Makeup Withdrawal

Rockin' It- Marcelle Rouge Xpression in Cleopatra

Monday, September 10, 2012

It's hard for me to adore Rae from the Notice anymore than I already do. However, this here Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipstick she sent me way certainly ups the ante. This particular shade, Cleopatra is exactly what was missing from my lipstick wardrobe!

A gorgeous saturated fuchsia that I found pretty flattering indeed!

I'm totally wearing my pajamas.

The great thing about this lipstick is that it has great slip, but very light feeling. Fantastic, rich pigmentation. Why can't we have nice things over here in the States? I kid, I kid. No seriously, why can't we have this particular nice thing?

I'm also wearing:

Brows: NARS Bali shadow
Eyes: e.l.f. Eyelid Primer, NARS Alhambra shadow, NARS Bali shadow, LORAC Beige shadow, NARS Pandora shadow, La Femme Eye Liner Sealer
Face: MUFE HD + Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, MUFE Full Cover Foundation, Guerlain Emilio Pucci edition Meteorites, NYX Taupe
Lips: Marcelle Rouge Xpression in Cleopatra

Thank you so much, Rae! I absolutely love this lipstick, I've really enjoyed wearing it. Isn't it great how a wonderful shade of lipstick can really improve your mood?

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

CLOSEDManicure Clean Up: Q-Tips Precision Tips Review & $25 AmEx Gift Card Giveaway

Sunday, September 9, 2012

I've mentioned it before, but rarely do I ever clean up manicures. It's just the way I apply polish, during a normal application, it's just very unusual for polish to end up flooding my cuticle. However, nail art is a whole other beast. Between sponging gradient nails and water marbles, I ALWAYS end up using Q-tips. Actually, if you read through my previous tutorials you'll notice that I always use the brand name Q-tips.

The reason that I'm picky about brand name Q-tips is that I always feel like the cheaper generic cotton swaps are flimsy and each cotton swap has barely any cotton on it at all. There are three things in life that I think people should splurge on and go for the brand name stuff; toilet paper, laser eye surgery and Q-tips.

Recently I tried out the new Precision Tips Q-Tips. Uhm, this are kind of FANTASTIC. The reason being that the traditional Q-tips are rounded so while they remove polish off the cuticle, it's hard to get a perfect crisp neat line close to the nail. These Precision Tips give you more control with the fine tip. I've been using them non-stop for perfect manicure clean up.

With the Q-tips sent for review, there was also a $25 American Express gift card. I'd like to pass this gift card on to my readers.

Giveaway: one $25 American Express Gift Card.

To enter: Follow this blog (any way you chose- Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', RSS feed, etc), leave me a comment below in the Disqus comment form with your EMAIL IN THE EMAIL SPACE (NOT IN THE BODY OF THE COMMENT) and your favorite beauty related way to use Q-Tips, let me know if you've tried the new Precision Tips yet!

UPDATE: A clarification about that email space. If you're posting as a guest (meaning you don't have a Disqus account) it looks like this:

Entering your email shows me what your email is, but not the world.
If you are already a Disqus user, just use your Disqus account (as long as Disqus knows your email).

Hope that helps!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

I was provided with Q-tips® Precision Tips® cotton swabs, as well as the $25 gift card and information about the product by Rocket XL. All opinions are 100% my own.

Glitter Gal Lizard Belly

Thursday, September 6, 2012

One of the few Glitter Gal holos left in my stash that I have not shown you folks. The reason being that I had difficulty taking pictures of it. This is the third time that I've put it on, taken pictures and when I reviewed all the images, thought that they were absolutely rubbish.

I want to love Lizard Belly. A sultry dark green holo. But I can't. First of all, the holographic nature is greatly diminished on the nails compared to in the bottle. It's not its fault, honestly. With darker bases, holo particles have to work that much harder. Too much silver holo and it ends up looking grey. Actually, I think that happens a bit with Lizard Belly. The base is too opaque and the submerged holo particles look a bit... grainy? That's the only way I can put it.

Wonderful glossy formula though.

Product featured was sent to me as a prize for winning a contest. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Annabelle B-Ray Revisited

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

During my move from the Philly area to Minnesota last year, I somehow managed to lose a lot of my makeup. I'm not sure how, but it really bummed me out. Among my lost treasures was Annabelle B-Ray, a discontinued Canadian matte navy shadow, utter perfection in a pan. The amazing Rae from theNotice recently sent me one of these (one of her backups, I suspect. My heart melted, you amazing woman, you!) recently in a care package and I can't tell you how happy it made me!

Over bare skin on the left, on top of primer on the right.

One of my favorite uses for B-Ray is as a liner. Used with a drop of La Femme Eye Liner Sealer, it creates an inky liner. Not quite as stark as black, but still very dark and defining.

To sum this post up, I love B-Ray and I love Rae. (B-Rae? I feel like I should rename this shadow after her.) Thank you so much Rae for inquiring after my health! :)

Franken: Avoidance Maneuver™

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Hey folks!
Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I had a wedding to attend, of which I was a member of the bridal party- so things were really hectic between the rehearsal, the actual nuptials, the pictures and the luncheon the next day! Today, I want to show you another one of my frankens and the story behind it.

I have a friend. One of her interesting personality quirks is her remarkable ability to avoid any and all conflicts, awkward situations, confrontations and mildly uncomfortable scenarios- especially if they involve men. It's amazing really, this individual can avoid almost any imaginable issue that you can think of if she so chooses. It's not just a skill or technique, it's an art.

So I named this franken after my friend CP because of my admiration for her Avoidance Maneuver™. No seriously, we've actually named this behavior the CP Avoidance Maneuver™.

Avoidance Maneuver™ is a violet jelly polish with fine and medium square gold glitter. Two coats pictured here. I'm happy that this polish doesn't eat topcoat.