Makeup Withdrawal

Pantone Parachute Purple is now $3!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Just a heads up about this steal- I was at JCPenny's Sephora the other day looking for those $7 Illamasquas (by the way, as far as I know this deal is only in JCP Sephora locations and does not include all colors) when I saw the Pantone Jewel Lacquers from last year in the sale section.

Briefly, let me describe to you my joy at finding it there: AHHHH!!!! Yes, that about sums it up. You see, I had wanted this quite a bit when it first came out last year but I think they were $10. Somehow, I convinced myself that I could wait for it to go on sale as most of Sephora's Pantone collaborations tend to do. These were marked down to $5 in store but actually rung up even more reduced in price, $3!

Pictured here is two coats of Parachute Purple. Violet with very fine teal green shimmer. I'm glad I waited because the shimmer is not quite as visible on the nail as it is in the bottle. This polish also looks more purple and less violet the closer it is to a light source, like in the pictures above where the fingers closer to my lights have more sheer, redder edges. Still I think it's a lovely polish. Also it sort of squashed my lemmings for Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. I know it pales in comparison to Scrangie but I've come to the realization that I'll never get my grubby mitts on the VHTF Scrangie.

A friend also asked how it compared to Color Club Port-Folio. They're so different that I thought that side by side nail pics were not warranted, but here's a shot of Port-Folio by itself, three coats. It is a true duochrome, flashing between green and purple. It almost looks like I caught a glint of in-between blue in this picture!

Anyways, if you were interested in any of the Pantone Jewel Lacquers, now is the time to go look for them!

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

Chevron Tipped American Apparel Mount Royal

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I've had a new addition to my American Apparel nail polish family! Mount Royal is a gorgeous dark blue creme that is perfectly opaque in one thicker coat. However, I actually used it as the accent color as a part of today's manicure.

California Trooper left, Mount Royal right

I started out with a base color of American Apparel California Trooper, a creamy sand color. I let that dry and taped off the triangular chevron shape with striping tape. People often ask where to purchase such a thing and the easiest place I can direct you to is online. I buy mine from eBay but shipping takes a while. Nail art supply etailers carry rolls of it in different bright colors.

Next, I painted the tips with Mount Royal then immediately peeled away the tape to reveal those perfect shapes. The last steps were to cut and apply more striping tape in gold and to seal everything off with a quick dry top coat.

American Apparel polishes are $6 each (or you can buy them in discount packs online or 3 for $15 in store) online or instore.

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

AFTER Gold Series A7 Lashes from KKCenterHK

Monday, March 4, 2013

Hi folks!

So lately I've worn the same style of lashes quite a bit and have gotten questions on Instagram and in real life as to what they were. They're from KKCenterHK and it's from a new brand that I have not tried before. The brand is AFTER and the style number is A7.

I really love these! They're very comfortable, with a super flexible band that is easily trimmed from either side if you find that the lashes are too long for your eye or to tone down the look by trimming away the longer hairs. The style is pretty natural, the band blends in very easily with dark liner. It's definitely not an over the top look, not too dense or too long, just fluttery crosshairs that look like the beautiful set of lovely lashes that I definitely was not born with.

I definitely like these the most out of all the lashes I've tried in recent memory. Another plus is that they clean up really well for reuse, but priced at $19.56 per box of ten pairs, you won't be too sorry if you lose any.

What are you favorite false lashes?

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

Triangular Studs from KKCenterHK

Hi folks!
Just a quick review tonight. Recently I had the opportunity to try some cool looking studs from KKCenterHK. I picked out these triangular silver studs because I had a Zelda Triforce manicure in mind. However, the studs turned out to be much bigger than I anticipated.

In fact, they are large enough that they don't stay on my nail very well due to my nail's curved shape. It causes the tips of the stud to just kind of stick out. If I use nail glue and am careful, it's not that big of a deal but it can snag on things. I think if you have broader, flatter nails then these would work just fine. These silver studs are $5.28 per pack and can be found here.

The color I'm wearing as my base polish is Zoya Vespa, made glossy with Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food and top coat.

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

Zoya Pixie Dust Collection: Review and Pictures (Plus a Preview of Summer Colors!)

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Hi folks!

It's taken me a bit to finish swatching the Zoya Pixie Dust Collection because the finish is so fantastic, I wanted to be sure to capture it to the best of my ability. As a result, I have about 400 pictures on my hard drive from just this collection! I am absolutely in love with this Pixie Dust texture and the absolute sparkle that this finish has.

London. Two coats. A smoldering grey Pixie Dust with silver micro glitter.

Nyx. Three coats. Soft periwinkle with silver micro glitter.

Chyna. Three coats. The boldest, most intense glittery ruby red.

Dahlia. Two coats. My favorite! Black with silver gleaming micro glitter. Wearing this one makes me feel like a rock star.

Godiva. Three coats. A light sandy nude with micro glitter. It's so delicate and pristine, just like a warm beach.

Vespa. Three coats. Muted sage green, silver micro glitter. So wonderfully clean looking!

As per the Zoya directions, I did not wear any basecoat or topcoat and let each layer set before doing another coat. For each polish, I photographed it three ways; once indoors under my light set up, once outdoors in the direct sunlight and the last photo is indoors but made glossy.

Another reason it took me a while to finish these swatches was because as they dry, these Zoya Pixie Dusts become more textured. They don't take much longer than a regular polish to dry, but I wanted to make sure they were absolutely dry to show off the texture the best.

The formula is easy to apply, just spread it slowly. Removal was a breeze, actually much easier than most glitter polish! In the pictures above, I used Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food and fast dry top coat to glossy up the Pixie Dusts.

I absolutely love Zoya Pixie dusts. I truly do. I can't express how cool they are to run my finger over once dry! I love that the finish is completely sandy and slightly gritty instead of just looking like glitter polishes without topcoat. I've used the term "gem encrusted" before to describe polish, but now more than ever this phrase is fitting! It looks like diamond particles on your nails, so amazingly sparkly and eye catching. You simply MUST try this on for yourself to see it!

Like I promised, here's the newest release from Zoya!

Wow! I can't wait to get my hands on Destiny, Liberty, Solange... all of them really!

Zoya polishes are Big 5 Free! The Pixie Dust polishes are $9 each from the Zoya website.

Have you tried the new Zoya Pixie Dust polishes?

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