OPI Shrek Forever After Collection: Summer 2010
This may just be rumour, but I highly doubt it! This is something that is very appealing to me; and it’s different from the same ol’, same ol’ summer stuff that comes out. From Chic Profile comes the news about the collection, which is coinciding, in a way, with the release of the final Shrek movie. There are six shades-and not one of them is a red or a pink!
The shades are:
Funky Donkey-This looks to be a bright, shimmery purple.
What’s With The Cattitude-A pale robin’s egg blue, that from the shot looks to veer more towards the original Ocean Love Potion (not the crappy Sephora version, I’m talking the ultra-shimmery aqua).
Rumple’s Wiggin’-This looks to be a dead ringer for Essie’s St. Lucia Lilac, maybe even lighter.
Who The Shrek Are You-One word: Chartreuse. This colour will be the highlight, we’re talking crazy as Absolutely Alice as far as fandom goes since well, chartreuse ain’t a common colour for nail polish.
Ogre-the-Top Blue-To me, this looks to be a smidge darker than No Room For The Blues. NRFTB is a gorgeous colour, and this will be a fun one to go into the fall with as well.
Fiercely Fiona-I’m getting one of two reads on this: first, it could be a pale lemon, but not as bright as Banana Bandanna. I would love it if they mixed Essie Barbuda Banana and Shorty Pants together, but that probably won’t happen. Second, it could be a pale chartreuse. Either way, MINE.
To me, this seems legit, but you never know. If it does indeed come out, look for it starting in May or June. I don’t remember when Sunbelievable came out, as I was jobless and thus not looking at NP as much last year…but you can bet I’m getting everything, and then some.
Again, all of this comes from Chic Profile. Don’t thank me, thank them:)
Review: Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows (With Swatches)
(Swatches are below!)
Finally, ULTA has come out with this, after Sephora and many other places are already out! Who cares though, at least I was able to get my hands on it without panting too much like a doggie at the counter. For those of you who have been living under a rock, the hottest collaboration this spring has been Alice in Wonderland, with the new Tim Burton adaptation hitting theatres on the 5th of March. OPI has a capsule collection of four polishes, and Urban Decay has this. If you get the chance, BUY IT. Put in extra hours at work, I don’t care. There is also a great range of shades in here that haven’t been in other books, or have been in other palettes as exclusives.
Let’s start with the first row: Underland (real shade: Flash) is a bright, bright, bright purple. It’s a smidge patchy, but it’s almost radioactive how glowy it is. Alice (real shade: Painkiller) is a high-frost turquoise. It debuted in the Show Pony palette and what can I say, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Oraculum (real shade: Baked) is a lovely golden bronze, and a must-have for any makeup fan. Even a neutral-hater like myself loves it because it is an amazing crease colour. Queen (real shade: Last Call) is very, very similar to MAC’s Plum Dressing or Cranberry. It’s a gorgeous burgundy-plum with yes, a lot of frost, but not a lot of shimmer.
The second row: Chessur (real shade: Chopper) is a nice beige, although it is loaded with glitter. White Rabbit (real shade: Polyester Bride) is another glitter bomb, this one being a nice white with a silver sheen. Wonderland (real shade: Maui Wowie) is another glitter, but this one is so ridiculously pigmented. It’s a very pretty taupe with a silver sheen to it. Curiouser (real shade: Grifter) is ridiculously glittery, and the colour is pretty in the pan (a light purple) but you need primer like crazy with this, I’m afraid. (more…)
Review: CARGO Rome Blush
The second of my three CARGO products, this one is quite a fun one, because blush has become a recent obsession of mine. To go from no face makeup to intense blushes like MAC Devil in less than two years…well, that’s craziness right there. And this? This is the exact sort of shade I have been looking for. Now a lot of people may not typically go for the oranges or orangey tones, but I find that they actually work very well with my colouring (and no, I’m not Fake Baking).
Bottom line: This may seem harsh colour-wise, but it applies beautifully and the packaging is awesome.
The one gripe about this is that this is a VERY shimmery blush. It’s not as shimmery, but close to, a MAC Mineralize skinfinish. There are some of the blushes that are matte, but this was the nicest colour of the bunch. However, the nice thing is that it is very blendable and it can work in well with anything, and if necessary be toned down.
It has good lasting power and decent pigmentation-but again, it’s not going to be a very thick blush, colour-wise. It’s going to maintain a sort of sheerness, which is always good to have.
The package is really nice because it’s a basic metal tin! Not only are they more environmentally-friendly, but it can totally be used as a catchall after you are done with the blush, whenever it may be. It also can take a few dings here or there, and it looks really cute in your purse or on your vanity (or traincase, or counter, or whatever it may be).
Finally, it’s time to weigh the product, and you are getting significantly more than a MAC blush-nearly 50% more, as a matter of fact. I believe it’s 8.5 grams as opposed to 6 for a MAC blusher, but I could be wrong. Who knows.
Price-wise, this runs for $24, which again is a great steal considering the colour and everything-and while the shade is perfect for me, some of the others may work a lot better for you, so go in and try them out. Heck, try this one! If you liked MAC’s Spaced Out, you’ll love this.
Review: CARGO Tahiti Quad
I know it’s a bit late, but still, it’s something:)
This was a recent clearance buy of mine at Sephora, as CARGO is being cleared out completely. I figured that this eye quad had been catching my eye for awhile, so why not buy it? Not only are the colours nice, but it’s very substantial, not just in packaging but in contents.
The verdict: Even at retail, this is a hell of a deal.
Let’s first get into the packaging: it’s a thick, plastic case, and each different quad has its own artwork on the top, which I think is neato. On the inside there is an all-important mirror, and quite a sizeable one as well! I don’t feel that I have to pull out a separate mirror or anything, because some quads have teensy little mirrors. There is also not a whole lot of spacing in between the shadows, which means you can fit more in!
Next up, shadow size: we’re talking DOUBLE the fill-weight of a MAC or Urban Decay shadow, and these four look like they would fit in with the Book of Shadows as there is one shade very close to Flipside, another that reminds me of MAC’s Fresh Green Mix MES, and so forth. You know that with these, you will get something good-and they apply beautifully, just like butter!
There is one catch, though: these require a primer, as the lasting power isn’t the greatest. If you prime, though, you will be all set. Like I said before, even at retail these are an insane deal that you shouldn’t pass up. With a wide selection, hit your local Sephora while these are still around, and if you miss out, ULTA always has them. $28 is a bargain for a four-shadow quad-you’re paying $7 a shadow essentially, which is what some drugstore brands are getting up towards.
Recent MAC Collection Thoughts
With all the collections MAC has put out recently and the time I have not had to go swatch, I figured today’s lunchtime was a good time to at the very least, take a look at it-and here are my thoughts!
MAC in Lillyland: Overall, not up to what I had hoped. The Lipgelees were nice, but I rarely ever do gloss, especially a squeeze-tube one. Preppy, though, is perfect over Show Orchid. They aren’t necessarily rushbuy-worthy for me, since they end up clogging the CCO’s arteries, but they are nice. The Cremeblends are bright, and I really want them all. However, I prefer powders and I just bought a nice CARGO blush, so I can easily pass. The Pearlmattes? Skippable for me. They are cute, on paper-but the eyeshadow should have been a trio like the Dame Edna ones. The powder, on the other hand, looks nice, and it would be perfect for all because it has the melange of shades.
Warm & Cozy: Bored to tears, folks. The MSF’s were the only thing that really interested me, and even then I was bored.
All Ages…: If it’s your sort of thing, the neutrals, you would like this. Good basics, but not stuff I’d wear often.
Studio Fix Lash: This may be the first MAC mascara that I really want to own, as I love the applicator. Still a smidge clumpy, but if all MAC mascaras had the plastic tooth brushes then I may be tempted to buy them!
Again, just some brief thoughts. Warm & Cozy isn’t worth a look, but the rest of the things are because you may find something fun.
New MAC Permanent (?) Shadows
This is something that I have been wanting for ages-a new selection of Pro Pans available at the local store-and guess what, here they are! These are available in both pot and pan form, so you shouldn’t have to be forced to just have pans if you like pots, or vice versa. The shade selection is really good, especially if you love brights.
Now for the shades!
Winkle-Midtone cornflower blue (Satin)
Atlantic Blue-Bright violet blue (Matte). This was a PRO-only shade, and it’s a definite royal blue, no two ways around it.
Lucky Green-Frosted midtone lime (Veluxe Pearl). This, I think, was from Belle Azure but it could have been Tantress. It’s more midtone than you may think, but who cares?
Free To Be-Bright true coral (Matte)
Sunny Spot-Light yellow acid green (Matte). This one is definitely green-I did not swatch but if you want a brighter version of Bitter then here you are.
Goldenrod-Bright marigold yellow (Satin)
Vibrant Grape-Bright magenta violet (Satin). This was a PRO-only shade.
Red Brick-Warm-toned red (Matte). Yet another old PRO shade.
Of these, I picked up Lucky Green and Atlantic Blue right away. Most of the rest will be mine, though-it’s truly a great selection of colours.
New VS Beauty Rush!
I am not really talking about the makeup here; although the makeup line has expanded enough to where you could say that it’s its own entity. No, I am talking about the bodycare-one of my fun favourite things. Admittedly, while I do love my exotic florals (hello tuberose anyone?), I also like really sweet, almost candy-like scents-and Beauty Rush delivers in droves. This Valentine’s Day, there are three of those sweet-themed scents, available in four forms: Body Drink Lotion, Body Double Mist, Moisture Cream, and 3/1.
The scents? Berry Rush, Cherry Bomb, and Cupquake. Now, I was in two different VS locations over the last two days-actually, three over three-and I did not see these. However, Cupquake was one of my favourite Beauty Rush glosses-it actually tasted kind of buttercream-y. If the lotion is anything like the lipgloss, then this is going to be a treat and a half. As far as the berry goes, I’m hoping for a sweet but not tart berry-like a raspberry creme brulee. And finally, please make the cherry smell like pie and not cough syrup:)
They are $12 each or 3/$25, however I’m waiting til the sale when they inevitably go on sale. By then, I may have used up some of my Romantic Wish as well as my other BBW stuff:)
Saturday’s Hauling!
So since I got paid yesterday, I figured it was time for me to haul these sales! It’s good in a way that I work more during the holidays, it’s more money towards buying stuff for cheap and I succeeded today. Can’t share my fashion hauls for obvious reasons, but I did well for both the boy and I:)
Now first stop was VS where I wanted more bras and/or lace nightslips, but instead they had nothing really in a 34DD bra and only nightslips in the yellow, which I already own. However, they had a metric crapton of beauty for 75% off-and we’re talking some nice Garden Collection stuff. They had the three scents that were the LE ones-Passionate Kisses, Honeysuckle Belle, and Midnight Mimosa, but they also had Romantic Wish (pomegranate, freesia, and cucumber? So there), as well as the three holiday ones (Sparkling Sugared Pear, Gilded Ginger Creme, Merry Vanilla Twist) and then some Honey Do (Beauty Rush) as well as the BR coconutty scent. For under $25 (with WA. state 9.5% sales tax, not like I’m complaining as it helps fund transit), I got the Vanilla Twist in lotion, shimmer cream, and body spray, the Honey Do in both glimmer creme and body drink lotion, the Romantic Wish in both spray and lotion, the Sugared Pear in spray, and Ginger Creme in shimmer lotion. Not bad, even though I don’t need more lotion, but I am really trying to get rid of some of this BBW stuff that I know I’ll probably never use and replace it with scents I like.
There’s also, at some locations, still some PINK bodycare and Beauty Rush makeup on sale, but at two locations I went to the only sale Beauty items were giftsets, and finding a 34DD bra was next to impossible sometimes. Blame the economy, I know I am. There’s new stuff as well but that is a whole separate kettle of fish, dearies. (more…)
CARGO Exiting Sephora
This has come as a very recent development, but yes, CARGO is exiting Sephora-so while supplies last, you can get the products instore AND online for 50% off retail! No word on why it is exiting, but this is as good a time as any to buy some things to try. In fact, yesterday I bought one of the PlantLove lipsticks (in Evangeline, the kinda orange one) and for $10, it’s great. The box has wildflower seeds embedded in it, and the tube is totally recycleable.
I have also heard that Laura Geller is exiting Sephora, but the one I went to yesterday is a smaller one and didn’t even carry LG in the first place, so it’s about hitting downtown Seattle today to see if it is indeed true. It is, though, reduced on the Sephora website but not as much as the CARGO stuff.
Stay tuned for more.
Review: Murad Vitalic Cleanser/Moisturizer
No, these are not one product in the same:) However, they are both ridiculously amazing!
Let’s start out with the cleanser, which is a 5.1 ounce bottle for $26. The thing that is important to realize is that with this, you don’t have to use a full pump. Just a tiny bit out will give enough cleanser for the whole face! The cleanser is designed to be lightweight and non-drying, while toning at the same time and helping to cleanse out pores. It also has copper in it which is designed to help energize the skin, and the pomegrante helps to balance. For somebody with nasty combination skin that can be acne-prone, this cleanser is an absolute godsend. After a couple weeks of somewhat-regular use, my skin is so much brighter and more glowy-I don’t look as tired even though work is extremely stressful.
There is one huge con with it though-it’s not particularly effective on super-tough makeup. I find that I still have to use makeup remover beforehand, as the foam doesn’t do as great a job I hoped of whisking my mascara and liquid liner away. However, since you just need an additional product for that, I say that this is absolutely a must-have for combination skin. (more…)
