Makeup Withdrawal

FOTD: The Lurker Below

Monday, September 19, 2011

Hello!
It's been a super busy week for me with exams, so I haven't posted much. However, I did get a chance to snap a few photos of today's FOTD, in the orange glow of the setting sun. Today's makeup wasn't super fancy or bright, mostly I wanted to hide the gigantic zit on my chin which I have nicknamed "The Lurker Below" (yes, it's a World of Warcraft reference. Ahh, Serpentshrine Cavern... I miss Burning Crusade raids). It's one of those super painful cysts and since I can't really see it in the photos, I must have done a half decent job hiding it.

Funny tidbit, my mom is ultra-conservative with makeup. Even on others. So today, when I have possibly the most neutral, non-attention drawing eyeshadow ever on- she goes "Mimi, you look nice. But I really think it'd look even better... if it were lighter." Gah.
Face: MUFE Full Cover Concealer, Graftobian HD Foundation, NYX Taupe Blush, BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder
Brows: NARS Bali Eyeshadow
Eyes: UDPP, MAC Devil May Dare Palette, MAC Chromagraphic Pencil, Opera Volume Control Mascara, Wet'n'Wild Creme Eyeliner
Lips: BECCA Beach Tint in Watermelon, Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss

Hopefully I have more time to post soon!

Love,

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

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hullo Readers!
Today, thus far has been fantastic. It's Customer Appreciation Day at Jimmy John's, so I very happily stopped by during lunch time for my $1 B.L.T. While munching on my bacon laden sub, I decided to take pictures of my newly acquired Revlon Facets of Fuchsia. It's the first polish I've purchased in a LONG long time, since roughly the end of May.
Ah, Facets of Fuchsia (by the way, I can't spell 'fuchsia' correctly to save my life), I NEEDED you. You're the poor man's Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance. When I first saw Bad Romance last year, I decided that it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, but I couldn't live with the price tag of a DL polish. Now that this drugstore imitation has come along, I can finally have this gorgeous combination of black jelly and magenta hex and small square glitter.
Behold! Three coats of Facets of Fuchsia:

You can still see through the smoky black jelly base. Ok, what if you're not into that? No problem. Solution: one coat of black polish underneath one coat of Facets of Fuchsia.

1x Wet'n'Wild Ebony Hates Chris, 1x Revlon Facets of Fuchsia

I like it this way too, it amps up the contrast between the two colors. I also tried it over a shimmery purple (didn't get a photo) and absolutely loved how it looked- glowy from within.

I hope you manage to find this collection from Revlon called Expressionalists in a store near you, I would definitely recommend picking this shade up!

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

Essence Underwater

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Hello!

Today I have a little bottle of Essence Underwater to show you. I love, love Essence Colour & Go polishes- $.99 a bottle, lots of bright colors in the line, what's not to like?

Underwater is a denim creme with micro-glitter that flashes from blue to purple in the sunlight, but is otherwise rather hard to see. I had a hard time trying to figure out if it was glass fleck or micro-glitter, something that is rather difficult for me to discern!

You can kinda see the sparkle better in this one.

Pictured here is three coats, nice formula-no troubles. I think that the next time you go to Ulta, this little fellow would like to go home with you.

Own Underwater? Or how about any of the other Essence polishes?

Product featured was purchased by me for my own use.

Blue Cross Cuticle Remover Review

Monday, September 12, 2011

Good evening, readers!

About two months ago, I managed to lose my beloved bottle of Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. Ah, it was a terrible time, my cuticles looked wretched and so I wandered into CosmoProf looking for a replacement (this is the part where I kick myself for not sticking to things I love, it doesn't always work out for me!). I picked up a bottle (huge, huge 32 oz bottle) for about $7.
I knew that it was a favorite cuticle remover among many nail enthusiasts and used widely by nail techs at salons all across the U.S.
It definitely works... but with a caveat.

The formula is very thin, the color and consistency of milk. It's annoying to manipulate since I've been used to the gel type of remover. I ended up pouring a little into a sauce dish (my mother was not pleased with me stealing one of her dishes and re-appropriating for manicure use, let me tell you) and used a q-tip to saturate my cuticles (after I had removed my polish, shaped my nails and most importantly given my hands a good soak. The soaking is vital!). It dried quite quickly so I kept having to reapply as I went along with an orangewood stick and pushed my cuticles back. Afterwards I washed my hands well to make sure that I had removed all traces of the remover.

I was quite pleased with how softened my dead skin was, and how Blue Cross allowed me to work the cuticles to satisfactory condition, but at the same time it wasn't better than my Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. I just prefer gel removers- easier for me to use, no hassle of having a little dish or q-tips.
It's a great value, this bottle will definitely last me months, if not years. /sigh. I'm not sure that's a good thing, I want to go back to Sally!

Have you used Blue Cross before? Or do you prefer another cuticle remover?

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

L.A. Colors Nuclear Energy

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Hello!
Super late night post tonight. I took pictures of this polish a few days ago but didn't get a chance to edit it until now.
This is L.A. Colors Nuclear Energy, purchased from the Dollar Store about seven months ago. I had lost the packaging that it came in, so I had to Google a bit to figured out what shade I had.

What a beauty! It's a very, very thin cream. So thin that in my pictures, it's a four coater. 4! It still almost looks somewhat streaky and see through in certain areas in my photos, but let me assure you that this is not the case, to the naked eye it looks solid. A stunning true purple that I couldn't get enough of.

Oh wait, did I make it even better? Yes, I did! I added CND Effects in Scarlet Shimmer on top.

Click to enlarge. You won't regret it, I promise.

Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!

Love,
-Mimi

Products mentioned in the post were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.