Makeup Withdrawal

New Melmer! Also NOTD.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A sneak peak into Drawer #1

Micheal's Arts and Craft Store had a 40% off on scrapbook materials, including storage. So I got myself one of those nifty drawer storage devices dubbed "Melmer" ('Cause you know how Ikea sells Helmers?). It was a bitch to put together ('scuse my language) because the little screws that go into the drawers are nearly impossible to screw in with a standard Phillips screwdriver. Enter, Krazy Glue.
Yes, that's right- I superglued that sucker together. It actually holds, and no broken nails!

Here's the nails I did afterwards:

The base color is Orly La Playa. I then sponged Hard Candy Mr Wrong over it, but the sponge absorbed the jelly base, and it ended up just showing as that gold microglitter. Then, I put a coat of my silver flakes (you know, the Rococco Gold Flake Lacquer dupe that I made, in silver).

Kinda gaudy, but that's ok! I was hoping for some bright bling.

EcoTools One Hand Helps The Other Hand Cream + FOTD

Hello all! First, I'd like to say welcome to new subscribers, you should chat with me sometime via comments or Twitter! :) I love getting to know you readers!
Ok, so you know the brand EcoTools (you know, the one that makes those great quality synthetic brushes sold at very reasonable prices at Target, Ulta etc) has a new line of body products? That's right, I spotted the line at Rite Aid last week when I went to go buy contact solution. I had been needing a hand cream quite badly (blow drying mannequins and using alcohol sanitizer constantly is murder on your hands) so I eagerly reached for a bottle of the One Hand Helps The Other Hand Cream.
Long name for a product, does it live up to the fancy moniker? Short answer: No, not really.
First thing I noticed was the smell. Of course! I mean, when you open up a bottle of cream and rub it all over your hands, the first thing you do is to take a deep sniff, right? Blergh, it wasn't a pleasing scent. I mean, it wasn't completely offensive like the pungent aroma of dog poop, but it just didn't fit into some of the basic categories of lotion scents. It wasn't floral nor citrus, not an edible scent like vanilla or cinnamon and it wasn't refreshing like lemongrass or cucumber. It smelled like...dandelion oil, as Mr. MakeupWithdrawal decided.
How does he know what dandelion oil smells like? No idea, just go with it.
Next, I noticed that it wasn't a super thick rich cream (which is what I had been hoping for) but instead the consistency of your average body lotion. It applied alright and absorbed rather quickly but didn't really leave my hands moisturized. In fact, about ten minutes after I apply this stuff, the moisturizing effect is pretty much completely gone and I'm left feeling like I need more hand cream.
However, it is

paraben free
phthalate free (lot of good that does me, I don't even know what phthalates are)
98% from nature (what's the other 2%? Toxic liquids? I kid, I kid)
not tested on animals

And of course, the cost. It's about $6 at your local retailer.

Dang, what an absurdly long review for a hand cream. I could have just said, it smells funny, $6 and doesn't work all that great and you would have gotten the gist of it.

And now my FOTD!

So of course, I'm using my Urban Decay BOSIII again! This time, using the awesome shade named Loaded. Also, look! My friend April helped me fix my brows and now both of them arch the same amount!

Loaded is that dark green duochrome (bit of brown reflection) and I blended it out with Rock & Republic Lawsuit.

Face: LORAC AquaPrime, MUFE HD, NARS Concealer in Custard/Ginger, Lacura pressed powder, Lacura foundation (to contour, no blush)

Eyes: UDPP, Rock & Republic Affair, Rock & Republic Lawsuit, Urban Decay Loaded, Kiss Me Heroine Make Long + Curl mascara

Brows: Maybelline Define A Brow

Lips: Revlon Rosy Nude

So now I'm on the search for a new hand cream!

I hoping for something with light to no scent, sanitary (no tubs, squeeze tubes please!) and relatively cheap because I need to buy several of them to keep around the house, at school, purse, etc. I really like thicker creams, not really the balm or runny lotion type gal. Recommendations would be much appreciated :)

FOTD: Playing With Urban Decay BOSIII

Monday, October 4, 2010

I played with the Book of Shadows today and tried out the shade Last Call. Weirdly enough, when I blended it out it looked rather orange, so I added Perversion (matte black) in the outer V. I guess I need to remember to bring oil blotters in my purse, see how oily I am? My body chemistry seems to have changed a bit, I'm now at either extreme of combination, my T-zone and cheeks are like an oil slick while my forehead is disgustingly scaly! Maybe it's time for a primer or foundation change.
Face: L'oreal Magic Perfecting Base, MUFE HD, Hard Candy Living Doll Blush, Lacura Foundation powder
Brows: Maybelline Define A Brow

Eyes: UDPP, Urban Decay Last Call, Urban Decay Perversion, Rock & Republic Veil, Kiss Me Heroine Make Long + Curl, MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Lips: Revlon Pink Pursuit gloss

Urban Decay Book of Shadows UD♥NYC Review

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Pop up art

I almost passed the palette up, I really did. I knew there were going to be some crazy glitterbombs (I'm looking at you, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again) that I'd never use and I didn't know if I wanted to buy a palette and have some of the shades untouched.
Well, I guess it seemed like a good idea to order it when I was feverish, because that's what I ended up doing!
The packaging on this Book of Shadows (henceforth abbreviated by BOS) is beautifully crafted though bulky. I really do like the pop up art, and even the lights!

Cover of BOS UD♥NYC

There's 16 shadows inside, 2 24/7 liners (in Zero, a matte black and Ransom which appears to be purple with a blue sheen) and a mini Primer Potion.
Four of these shadows are OMFGlitterbombs. I mean, shadows with big chunky glitter, the kind of glitter that holds you hostage and takes you by the shoulders and shakes you violently until you acknowledge that they're ALL OVER YOUR FACE. These four are Snatch, Uzi, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again and Maui Wowie.
Then there's three more shadows with finer, more integrated glitter- Money, Kush and Bordello. By that I mean the glitter stays with the shadow. We also have eight shimmery shades; Suspect, Smog, Psychedelic Sister, Last Call, Rockstar, Haight, Radium and Loaded. Last but not least we have Persuasion, a matte.
It was rather overcast out, but I got some decent pictures:

It's kind of hard to tell from my swatches but Haight is more green than Radium. Snatch is a pink with gold sheen with gold glitter. Uzi, Snatch, Maui Wowie and Midnight Cowboy once again, are the glitterbombs. Loaded is a duochrome, with more green shimmer than bark brown.
Anyways, the quality of these shadows are great, really pigmented and easy to blend. And it's a good deal too! Even without counting the mini UDPP or 24/7 liners, it comes out to be about less than $4 per shadow.
I'm really glad that I managed to get this, I'm blow away by the array of vibrant shadows!

Did you manage to get BOSIII? Or do you have any of the previous BOS from Urban Decay?

Item was purchased by me, for my own use.

Rock & Republic Fatalistic Eyeshadow

Friday, October 1, 2010

I have been searching for a pigmented black shadow for quite a while now. MAC Carbon certainly wasn't a good specimen (not really as black as I wanted) and though Jane Clubbing was nice and very black, it had sparkles. Recently, I had heard that Rock & Republic's Fatalistic shadow was great quality and ridiculously dark, so I decided to order one online to test it out.
Once again, R&R's quality of powder products did not disappoint - Fatalistic is fantastically pigmented and finely milled, and quite smooth as well. It's not as creamy feeling as some of their other shadows (say, Lawsuit or Tempting) but that's probably because it's 1) matte 2) white/ black. Have you ever noticed that good quality matte white and matte black shadows are hard to come by? It's seems to be difficult to formulate them with good pigmentation and consistency at the same time. Also, there's various types of blacks. Some are more charcoal, lighter in color while others are warmer brown blacks. Fatalistic however, is decidedly cool black.

Outdoors, no flash. Picture did turn out kind of cool toned though.

I was very pleased with this shadow, because with such a basic color like matte black, I feel the need for great quality. After all, how versatile is black eyeshadow? You can use it to deepen any color, you can use it wet or dry to line your eyes, and to even tightline on my upper lash line! With all these ways to use it, I'll be reaching for it a lot and am glad I found a high quality black!

What's your favorite black eyeshadow?

Product was purchased by me, for my own use.