Makeup Withdrawal

Red Apple Lipsticks in New York & Sunkissed

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Have you heard of Red Apple Lipstick? I was recently contacted by this company to review some of their lipstick shades. If you're looking for a lipstick without gluten or parabens, Red Apple is your company. They are also soy free, dairy free and allergen free. Their lipsticks are also vegan, natural and cruelty free. Yet the lipsticks are still fantastic and come in a nice shade selection.

The lipsticks come packaged in a flat black tube with a nice bit of heft to it (nothing I hate more than lightweight lipsticks, for some reason). The glossy Red Apple logo and name are on the end and sides of the cap. I like that the tube has these small little raised beads all over to mark which part is the tube and which is the cap (and also helps opening in opening). Overall, really straight forwards and practical packaging.

The formula is nice, both have plenty of slip to them and are a bit glossy (Sunkissed more so than New York). The pigmentation is medium, buildable to opaque. New York doesn't really have a scent but Sunkissed is faintly sweet.

Sunkissed. Though fiery red orange in the tube with ultra fine golden shimmer, I find that it leans almost coral on my lips.

New York. Nude-y pink in the tube, almost baby pink oh my lips.

I like both of these lipsticks quite a bit. Price wise, shades vary at either $17.50 or $23.50 (4.5g of product) which puts Red Apple in the medium range (and can be purchased here). However, if you have sensitivities to gluten or parabens, that price is well worth it!

I would love to see other finishes from Red Apple as I personally love matte lipsticks. Have you tried any of Red Apple's shades?

Perlier Lemon Sorbet Crackling Body Water

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

It's been really hot here this summer so when I had the chance to review Perlier's Lemon Sorbet Crackling Body Water carried by HSN (courtesy of iFabbo), I couldn't wait. A cooling treat for my body? Yes please.

It comes in a simple canister, which is best left in the fridge between uses. In a continuous motion, I sort of spray it across my skin though it comes out in a bubbly foam.

It's an odd but really cool feeling sensation, like a fizzy (but not sticky) soda poured on your skin. You can touch it and let it crackle faster between your fingers and your skin.

It dries within a minute, leaving no residue behind but your skin is cool and smooth to the touch. It doesn't replace lotion or body butter but I think it does help retain moisture a bit. The best thing about Perlier Refreshing Crackling Ice Body Water is how good it smells. Just like lemon sorbet! It smells so tasty and fresh, I wish I had a bathtub full of this, I would dive right in.

In short, it's a cool, sparkling, self indulgent way to forget about the heat. At least, for a few minutes.

You can use iFabbo5 to take $5 off your first order of Perlier on HSN.com

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

Mundane Mondays, Vol. XI: Recent Blogger/Indie Brand Meet Ups

Monday, July 8, 2013

So recently I was really lucky to find out that a lot of other bloggers and indie brands lived up in the NorCal ~ Greater Sacramento and Bay areas so I attended a meet up and a nail party.

First, I met up with my girls @polishedbytiff, @laquerdetox, @feliifel of the brand Nail Sauce, @polishtbh of PolishTBH, @lovelylacquer of Lovely Lacquer. We had a potluck picnic in the park. At first it was lovely in the shade but it turned boiling hot pretty fast!

I made pavlova but it um... had a rough ride.

We tried to do a sort of 4th of July theme for the meet up.

Polished by KPT also had a one year anniversary party! Neat, right? It was hosted at Ecomonster in San Jose.

Yummy treats!

A DIY scrub making station. I made mine with great ingredients: raw brown sugar, avocado oil, olive oil, vitamin e, citrus scent.

We also had the opportunity to make rings! Mine is still drying (I put a TON of glitter) so I thought I'd show you Christian's creation (@polishtbh). She has Polished by KPT Color Therapy over Flourescein.

Personalized gift boxes? How awesome is that? I felt so bad opening it because the packaging was so nicely done.

It was so great to finally meet Katherine of Polished by KPT, it felt like seeing an old friend not meeting a new person! I met Rylee of Wicked Polish there too (who is as awesome as her polish, so AMAZING!).

Here's a crappy cell phone pic, but recognize those fingers on that tablet display?

Hopefully you all also had a great weekend! Have you every done any meetups with bloggers, brands etc? I hadn't really met too many people in the nail and makeup community until now. I just confirmed that I'll be going to CosmoProf North America as a member of the press, so I'm quite excited to meet even more bloggers!

Shimmer Kim

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Good evening!

Today I have another beautiful Shimmer Polish to show you, as a part of my weekly installment of Shimmer Polish swatches! I've tried to do something other than a straight forward swatch to show you how great Shimmer Polishes are for glitter gradients, layering, etc.

Kim is made up of medium blue metallic hexes, small purple, silver holo, lighter blue glitter and unless my eyes deceive me, micro fine glitter. Like other Shimmer Polishes, the glitter is superbly dense which makes it great for what I did today, dabbed onto nail closest to the cuticle as an accent. I used a makeup sponge to absorb the base and place the glitters with relative ease.

Again, really smooth flowing base with great glitter density. I wore it on top of China Glaze Hook and Line, from the Colors From the Capitol Collection. I was looking for a color that would make the glitter pop but figured that I did glitter on black a little too often!

Shimmer Kim is $12 and can be purchased along with other spectacular glitter bombs here. Be sure to follow Shimmer Polish on Facebook and the blog to see other fantastic glitter manicures.

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

Aqua/Minty EOTD

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Here's a look that I intended on wearing today... but didn't finish it in time. I decided to finish it up when I came home though!

Brows: NARS Bali, NYX Brow Shaper
Eyes: LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk, Mehron iNtense Fire Island, Femme Fatale Cosmetics Hallowed Ground shadow, false lashes, Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, Rock & Republic Fatalistic shadow

Playing with new makeup right when you have to leave for an event = fail.

Some of the products featured were sent for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.