Heart Garden Manicure

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Hi folks! Recently I was sent some gold heart studs from Born Pretty, one of my favorite nail art supply stores. What better time than Valentine's Day? Hearts usually aren't my thing, but I decided to mess around with various colors of striping tape and came up with this look.




I used Wet'n'Wild Black Creme as my base and used butter London Matte Finish to top it off once the various lengths of tape were placed. Then, I used nail glue to glue down the studs. I like these studs quite a bit. I only wish my nails weren't so curved so that they would lay down better. One thing that I really like about Born Pretty's studs is that each pack comes with a large quantity, probably more than I could ever use up! I also like that they are a soft gold hue rather than super yellow gold.


Don't forget you can always use my code for 10% off! Neat, right?

Happy Valentine's Day!

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

A Tale of Two Sigma Brushes

Sunday, February 10, 2013
I've been curious about this brand's brushes for quite a while and I must say that I'm a bit of a brush freak. I'm a total brush freak. At my high point I had around 80 but not only was that annoying as heck to wash, I no longer needed so many because I was not applying makeup to other people. I've since then eliminated my brush stash down to under 40 brushes and must admit that I have rather high standards for the ones that I buy these days.

There was however, two very specific brushes that I felt like I was missing in my collection. I wanted a small smudge brush and a tapered cheek brush.  Luckily I had an Amazon gift card laying around so I decided to put it to good use and order a couple Sigma brushes.

I ordered two Sigma brushes, the F35 Tapered Highlighter and the E20 Short Shader. Sigma brushes have nice solid handles (I actually have no idea what it is made of, black lacquered wood or plastic? Morgan and I spent some time puzzling over it. I'm leaning towards plastic because of the engraving and the weight.) and double crimped ferrule. The brush number and the Sigma logo have a nice deep holographic which I'm quite certain will last longer than MAC's notoriously fast fading brush markings. Neither one of these brushes bled or shed any hairs while I washed them (I've washed them each about 4 times now), though I have read some blogs mentioning that some of their brushes bled.


First, the F35 Tapered Highlighter. Natural bristles, pretty soft and the cut is pretty nice. However, it is a bit smaller/not as dense as I would have hopped, not nearly as round as pictures of it on the website suggest. As a result, I feel like I lack control when applying either a highlighter or contour shade with this brush and the area of application is rather small, I don't really find that I reach for it. If it been a slightly larger and denser head, I think I would have loved it. Perhaps I should take a look at the much larger sister F25. The F35 Tapered Highlighter is $18.


The E20 Short Shader on the other hand, I grew to like quite a bit. Again, I feel like it could be denser and softer but it is a great addition to my brushes. It is very usefully for depositing color in my lower lash line and for small areas of my eye, like smudging color into my upper lash line. I think that in the future I might look into NARS #15 Smudge Brush, because I think it is a bit smaller and would be even better suited for my needs. However, the E20 is quite a bit cheaper at just $10.

To sum it up, I would recommend the E20. In fact, if I lost it I'd probably repurchase it. The F35 however, is just ok. I think this highlighter brush is nothing to write home about and probably won't be used very often at all. I think the quality of Sigma brushes (based on just the two that I bought) is good for the price, but then again you have to remember just how low the prices are. If you're looking for beginner brushes for makeup, these would work splendidly. But there are definitely better quality brushes out there and I think it is worthwhile to invest in those.

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

Happy Chinese New Year! With Scratch Nail Wraps

Hi folks!


It's Chinese New Year! (Or Lunar New Year, as this day is celebrated by many people in different countries, not just China). I was sent this set of Ruby Honeycomb nail wraps by Scratch a few weeks back. When I saw the color combination, I just had to save it for New Year's nails (though I was dying to put them on).

I used the Ruby Honeycomb design on two of my fingers and then did glitter gradients on my other fingers. I've reviewed Scratch nail wraps in the past, they continue to be really easy to use and a joy to behold on my nails. I really adore everything about this design- the vivid colors, the geometric pattern, everything.  Click HERE to go to the Scratch website to pick up a fabulous set for yourself.

What am I holding in my hand in the first picture? A red envelope! Ok, mine is technically gold in color but red envelopes filled with cash are given as gifts in Chinese culture. It varies from region to region, but in my family the children, students and unmarried receive them from the adults. I guess that makes me not a real adult since I received one this year, hah! Then when I graduate and find a great job, it's my turn to give them out, to my parents, grandma, nephews, nieces, etc.

I used these polishes on my other fingers. Jordana Funky Gold Town, Sally Hansen Red Carpet, Pure Ice First Party and Pure Ice Get Low.

We're not doing anything special today (I actually joked to Morgan that we should pick up Panda Express and a six pack... but he took that as a real suggestion so I guess we're having Panda Bowls tonight...) since we'll be in San Francisco in a couple of weeks for the parade and will celebrate then.

Happy New Year! :D

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

Foiled Nails

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Hi folks! Today's manicure is one I did a few nights ago. I started out with a base of Pure Ice All Night Long and then essentially shredded a bunch of silver nail foil and stuck it on my nails. I topped it all off with topcoat. I like my pinky the best, because there is a lot of overlap which gives it a more organic look than the rest of the fingers.

Pure Ice All Night Long is rather pretty by itself too. A dark blue with super fine shimmer that flashes form teal to blue to purple. It glows, but the color transition is more subtle on the nail.

Thanks for checking out this manicure!

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

NARS Terre de Feu

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I feel a little silly that I've been wearing this lipstick a lot this winter yet have failed completely to blog about it. I've had it since October and I've put some serious mileage on this dark red matte lipstick! NARS Terre de Feu is definitely a good first pick from NARS' Pure Matte lipstick line.


The color is a bit deceiving, for me it really wanted to photograph warmer and more yellow than it actually is. Though it seems to look a bit more brick red in pictures, it is definitely cooler and more blue based. 
 The formula is really quite nice, matte but not as drying as mattes can be on the lips. The pigmentation is fantastic and the wear was great for me. Other than eating and drinking (of course!) I found that Terre de Feu was extremely long lasting.


I definitely see myself picking up more NARS Pure Mattes. I need to talk myself into shades other than reds though, I need to challenge myself to start wearing and incorporating pinks, plums and nudes.

I'm also wearing:

Brows: NARS Bali, NYX Eyebrow Shaper
Face: Black Radiance Complexion Perfection, mixture of Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk and MUFE HD, BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder, BECCA Nymph PSP, Chanel Notorious
Eyes: NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, NARS Rajasthan duo, La Femme Eyeliner Sealer, Calvin Klein Night Dust, false lashes

NARS Terre de Feu Pure Matte lipstick is $25 and can be found at Sephora, Nordstrom and the NARS website.

Do you have a favorite matte lipstick? Or anything from the NARS Pure Matte line?

Products featured given to me as a gift. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.