Makeup Withdrawal

Striped Manicure

Sunday, May 6, 2012

A look I did using striping tape.

The hardest part was spacing the tape evenly! I used: Zoya Farah*, China Glaze Brownstone, China Glaze Trendsetter, China Glaze Westside Warrior, China Glaze City Siren.

I based this design off of a shirt that a lady at work wears. I hope she never stumbles upon this blog (highly unlikely, thank goodness!) because that would make for a pretty awkward conversation. I used four shades from the China Glaze Metro collection. I was 'meh' about it when they came out, but ended absolutely loving all the colors. They're so.... me.

*indicates a product that was sent for review. All other products were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

EOTD: MAC Henna

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Hi folks!

I planned on using MAC Smoke & Diamonds today, but I accidentally pulled out MAC Henna and started applying it before I realized that I had grabbed the wrong shadow. I'm glad I did, I haven't used it in a while and it needed the attention!

MAC Henna was from the Blonde Brunette Redhead Collection, way back in 2009. I bought it from a CCO but it remained largely untouched for the longest time because the beautiful antique gold with a touch of olive color would turn muddy when I blended it. I solved that this time by using Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy underneath. Now paired with a warm brown, it looks like a golden patina. Awesome with brown eyes!

I used:

Brows: NARS Bali shadow, NYX Brow Shaper

Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, MAC Henna, Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, Wet'n'Wild I <3 Matte (brown shade) palette, LORAC Beige, Revlon PhotoReady Mascara, false lashes*

Have a great rest of the weekend.

*indicates a product that was sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

So I Like Star Wars a Lot

Friday, May 4, 2012

Happy Star Wars Day, folks!
I had a post planned for today already but in honor of May 4th, I did a fresh new manicure for the occasion.

Yeah. Darth Vader. Possibly the neatest villain of all time.

I used Revlon Black Lingerie. On my other fingers, I topped it off with NYX Frizz Spots. On my ring finger, I used Sally Hansen Wet Cement to draw in the Sith.

Have a great weekend folks!
And May the Fourth be with you.

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

Tutorial: Striping Tape Mani

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Happy... Thursday!

I tried out striping tape a couple days ago for the first time and after a few redos, I came up with a few neat looks. This here is one based off of nails I found on Pinterest from the blog My Awesome Beauty (click here). Same concept, only I used different polishes. I put together a quick tutorial to show you how easy this is! Honestly, the hardest part of this look is waiting patiently between each coat!

You'll need:

-Three shades of polish

-top coat, base coat

-striping tape

-regular Scotch tape (optional, just easier for me to paint with)

-scissors (not pictured)

-toothpick or orangewood stick (not pictured)

I bought my striping tape off of eBay. It was around $2 for 12 colors and shipping! Really cheap stuff, fun to play with.

Start out with a base coat, like usual and paint your first color. I'm using Zoya Cho*, used two coats.

Wait for it to dry. Completely. This was agonizing for me so to speed things along, I used a thin coat of fast dry top coat. Sally Hansen Insta Dri, if you're wondering.

Tape off about half your nails. I used Scotch tape, but you can actually use striping tape for the same purpose.

Paint the remaining section a different color. Wait for it to dry, then peel off the tape. Here, I've used China Glaze Ingrid.

Section off another part of of the nails, about 1/4 from the cuticle. Paint the remainder with your third shade. Wait for that to dry then peel off your tape. I'm using Revlon Black Lingerie.

Now is the fun part- apply your striping tape. I recommend placing it across the nail, and laying across the line you want to cover. Then, carefully snip the tape so that it covers the line, BUT IS NOT LONGER than the line. This is pretty important- if it's longer than the polish beneath it, it won't adhere well and it'll be like a loose end that threatens to unravel. Pretty annoying when you went through all that trouble to do your nails, trust me!

Use a toothpick or something else that is small and pointy to press the tape down firmly, concentrating on the ends. Top everything off with top coat, clean up around your cuticles with a q tip or small brush dipped in polish remover if needed.

See? Not all that complicated, right? I like how the striping tape hides the line, so even if your edges weren't very crisp, they still end up looking very neat.

I love the end result. It's attractive, in an understated 'clean' sort of way.

Hope that was helpful! Please also check out the original poster, Sophie's blog- My Awesome Beauty. She has such amazing pictures and fantastic nail art.

*indicates a product that was sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

L'eauParKenzo Pour Femme EDT Review

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Good evening! Fragrance review time.

I've been putting off reviewing L'eauParKenzo for a while. I first tried this fragrance about six months back, in the middle of the winter. At the time, if you recall- CLEAN Skin occupied (occupied is an understatement, I was obsessed) my mind so for a while this fragrance sat on the back burner.

When I first sniffed this scent, I must say that my expectations were not very high. It opened up with curious mint, an oddity almost, compared to the other notes. Being the middle of the winter, the cold winter air only amplified the crisp mint, it sent a chilly sensation down my back. Gradually, it eased into a nice fruity floral with the help of water lily and a bit of citrus, but a very mild, enjoyable fruity floral. L'eauParKenzo ends for me, with lingering rose. That's actually my least favorite part, the rose. I'm just not partial to roses! Overall, I enjoyed this EDT, it was like a splash of cool water at the start of a brisk day.

I waited a few months, because I didn't want to review it before wearing it in warmer weather. These days, while I still find it rather pleasant, I no longer experienced the refreshingly cool mint as much. Now, the clean aquatic nature of this fragrance is a bit lost on me, which is really quite a shame because I was looking forward to the feeling that this scent evokes- calm and still like cool breeze blowing over a perfect body of water- in the middle of the summer when the weather is hot and the air is humid.

It seems counter-intuitive because from reading other reviews, it seems like a lot of people wear this in the summer, but I'm saving it for cooler days. I just happen to really like that crisp, fresh feeling.

Second to last thing- I like the bottle quite a bit. My 3.4oz bottle is quite large, and it looks like a warped glass brick. Even if I don't love this fragrance in a few years, I'll still keep it around. I can always beat intruders with it, it's that large!

One last thing. Eau de toilette and all, the longevity is not all that great for me. For continuous wear, I'd recommend buying a travel atomizer to fill up with this fragrance.

What do you think? Have you tried L'eauParKenzo Pour Femme EDT? What's your favorite Kenzo fragrance?

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