Manicure Mondays-Essie Licorice

Today I have for you a classic, Essie's Licorice.  It is a black jelly polish.  I love a good black polish, I find it so chic.  This one was opaque in almost one coat, though I used two.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  This manicure lasted me a full 7 days!  I can't say enough about Essie polishes.  If you have not tried one, do say ASAP!

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer Review

Launched about a year ago, MAC's Pro Longwear Concealer has become my concealer of choice.  It claims to be a medium to full coverage liquid concealer that gives a natural matte finish and lasts up to 15 hours.  Sounds good right?  But does it do what it claims?

I can honestly say that I love this concealer!  The shade I wear is NC 35.  I find that it is a medium coverage concealer that can be built up to full coverage.  It does last a very long time. I've worn it for 15 hours and I experienced no fading.

I wear this over my Bobbi Brown corrector in medium to dark bisque.  I apply it with a Samantha Chapman Real Techniques flat foundation brush and blend it out with the Sephora airbrush concealer brush.  I apply it with a tapping motion in order to get the most coverage possible (as I have horrendous dark circles and bags).

Some people claim that you don't have to set it.  I personally do or else I find that it creases, even with a primer underneath.  I set this with the MAC Prep+Prime translucent finishing powder.  That assures that it doesn't crease or settle into those tiny lines under my eyes.

I even use it for blemish coverage, and it works great for that.  I just dab a little onto my blemish or dark spot and blend it out.  It stays put all day.

The thing that I don't like about it is the pump that it comes with.  It is the most sensitive pump ever.  One pump of this stuff is enough for 2-3 days of usage.  And there is no way to just pump out the amount you need.  What I've done to remedy that is I pump a full pumps worth into a Sephora sample jar and I use it for 2-3 days, just dipping my brush into get my desired amount.  Also, on my first bottle of this, the pump quit working when there was about 1/8th left. It just wouldn't pump anymore.  And there is no way to unscrew the pump.

Overall, I love this concealer.  It retails for $17 and will likely last you six months.  It is available at MAC counters and stores.

Beauty UK Earth Child Eyeshadow Palette #4

First, let me apologize for the small blogging break that I took, I had to take care of myself.  But I am back and feeling better!  Beauty UK is an affordable UK brand that I'd heard tons about on other blogs.  It is sold in their drug store for 3.99GBP.  I received this in my swap with BeautybyJJ.  And let me tell you, it's good!

Top row of colors

Bottom row of colors

It is a 10 color palette full of earth tones.  The colors have no names from what I can see.  The eyeshadows themselves are very soft and pigmented.  And they blend wonderfully.  It is a nice mix of mattes and shimmers.  My favorite combo to wear from this palette is the shimmery brown on the lid with the matte brown in the crease.

I love the size of the palette also.  It's great for traveling.  When the husband and I took a long weekend trip over Labor Day weekend, this was the only eyeshadow that I brought.  It allows for neutral looks as well as a smoky eye as it has blacks and greys too.

If you are in the UK, I highly recommend picking up this palette.  Beauty UK also ships to the US, if any of my US beauties are interested.

Manicure Mondays-Revlon Smoky Canvas

Released with their Fall 2011collection, Revlon's Smoky Canvas is a warm taupe grey.  This is a cream finish.  The formula was superb, this one could have been a one-coater but I opted for two.  This wore chip free for 6 days with my CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  I believe this is a limited edition color, so if you like this, pick it up quickly!

Crown Brush 7 Piece Synthetic Travel Brush Review

Crown Brush was on Haute Look again, so I went ahead and placed another order.  This time for the travel brushes as I will be doing some traveling for work soon.  I opted for the synthetic brushes as I have not been so pleased with their natural hair brushes in the past.

The set consists of a powder brush, blush brush, spoolie, angled eyeliner/eyebrow brush, lip brush, domed blending brush, and a flat eye shadow brush.  They all come in a black nylon case.  They have a matte unlabeled black short handle with a silver ferrule.  The handle measures 5 1/4 inches long.  Tiny in comparison to a full sized brush.

When I first opened them, they had a pungent smell and had powdery residue coming from them.  The powder brush had a few loose bristles.  I washed all of them immediately and the smell went away and there was no more shedding.

The face brushes are very soft and dense.  I really liked the finish that the powder brush gave when I used it with my MAC MSF natural.  The blush brush wouldn't be my ideal blush brush as it is so dense but it did get the job done.

The eye brushes are also very soft.  The flat eye shadow shader brush packs on color nicely on the lid.  And I was very impressed at how well the blending brush blended.  I do not like the angled brush for eyebrows, it works much better as an eyeliner brush as it is very stiff.  The spoolie is a spoolie, nothing much to say about that.  The lip brush I found works better as a detailed concealer brush.  I used it to cover tiny blemishes that I had.

Overall, this brush set impressed me way more than the original three brushes that I ordered.  This set was $25, purchased from Haute Look.  If you're looking for a travel set, this is a good one to check out.

My Top Ten Nail Polishes For Fall 2011

Manicure Mondays-Color Club Wild Orchid

Color Club Wild Orchid is a beautiful shade of grey with some lavender undertones and micro shimmer.  The formula was nice and smooth.  I only needed two coats for opacity.  Since Color Club doesn't play well with my Diamond Dry top coat, I had to apply Sally Hansen Diamond Strength top coat, then my Diamond Dry top coat (which is a fast dry top coat).  I still used my usual CND Stickey base coat.  It wore well, lasting 6 days before chipping. Color Club is cheap, costing only $2.99.  Pick some up the next time you see some!

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush

Natural Beauty, Tipsy

I heard the hype surrounding the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour blushes and had to try them.  12 hours of wear, sign me up!  This blush claims to hydrate dry skin, remove surface oil to mattify skin, and improve the appearance of skin clarity and texture.

I have to two colors, Natural Beauty and Tipsy.  Natural Beauty is a gorgeous strawberry red and Tipsy is a lovely coral.  Natural Beauty is matte and Tipsy is satin.

Natural Beauty, Tipsy

I love these blushes!  They are highly pigmented!  They are a little powdery, but that doesn't bother me.  I don't know about 12 hours but these lasted a good 10 hours.  I normally get oily on my cheeks half way through the day.  With this blush, I didn't notice that happening.  It didn't fade throughout the day like some blushes have a tendency to do.  As far as improving the appearance of my skin, I'm not sure about that.  I guess time will tell.

I really like these blushes but wish they would expand their color range as most of the colors are not unique.  These two colors were the only ones that I didn't have something similar to in my collection.  These retail for $25 and can be found at Sephora, Ulta, and tarte.com.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation Review

I Found My Nude Pumps!

Well, I should say my mother found them.  I had vented my frustrations to her about not being able to find the style, color, etc that I wanted.  While out shopping for herself, she came across these...and they were exactly what I was looking for.  Conservative enough for the office, high enough for the weekend...and most importantly...the right shade of nude.

They are the Antonio Melani Cleo pump from Dillard's and they were only $31 (marked down from $90)!  And this was the only pair left and they happened to be in my size.  Talk about fate!

They are made of very soft vintage nappa Mestico leather (??).  It has a leather insole and outsole with a 4 inch heel, small platform, and almond shaped toe.  They are very comfortable also.

I'm so glad my mother stumbled across these.  Talk about a diamond in the rough!

Manicure Mondays-OPI My Private Jet

OPI My Private Jet is one of the most infamous colors in OPI history.  It enjoyed a recent resurgence when Kim Kardashian requested it at a nail salon on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.  There are several versions of this color floating around (google it and you'll see what I mean).  I have the version that has the deep brownish base color with the scattered holographic glitter particles.  It only needed two coats for opacity and I enjoyed it for 6 days chip free.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  It is one of those dangerous colors that make you look at your hand while driving!  The glitter is mesmerizing!

August/September Favorites

Here are the items that I was loving throughout the month of August and September!

A Message To My Readers...

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Did I Just Buy The Same Color In A Different Brand?

China Glaze Ingrid, Dior Exquis #611

As soon as I saw the Dior Holiday 2011 promo pictures, I gravitated to the nail polish shade Exquis #611 (because I am a nail polish whore).  I purchased it today.  When I got home, I looked at the my stash and it looked similar to something I already had.  Behold, China Glaze Ingrid.  They look identical in the bottle, except for one thing, the golden shimmer.  The golden shimmer is more apparent with Exquis than Ingrid.  Since I have a fresh manicure, I can't swatch them on the nail.  I'm going to go ahead and keep the Dior color simply because I like that the shimmer is more pronounced.  Now that may change once I swatch them.  If they're identical on the nail, then I will be returning the $22 Dior color!  What do you think?


P.S.  Sorry about the camera phone photo, the Nikon's batteries are dead and I haven't gotten to the store to get some new ones.

Newest Handbag Acquisition

In addition to beauty products, clothes, and shoes, I also love handbags (what girl doesn't).  I normally get two new bags a year due to my expensive taste in bags.  This is bag #2, ordered yesterday, shipped today.  I can't wait to hold her!

She's by Kate Spade, the color is French Grey, and it is a lizard embossed leather.  What I like most about it, is the classic look of it.  Similar to the Chanel Quilted tote that costs a bajillion dollars.  She may not be for everyone, but I like her :)  This should curb my appetite for the aforementioned Chanel bag.  I just can't see myself paying $3,000 for a handbag!  Maybe in 20 years and another zero added to my salary!

Manicure Mondays-Love & Beauty Navy

Forever 21's Love & Beauty nail polish continues to impress me, although they could use some help in naming their polishes.  This week I have Navy, which is a gorgeous navy blue with golden shimmer.  The shimmer gives this polish nice depth.  The formula was like butta!  It was almost a one coater!!  It applied so smoothly and leveled nicely.  And it lasted for 6 days without chipping.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  I am really loving Love & Beauty polishes and for $2.80 each, that's a relationship that will last a long time.

Fall Inspired Eye Tutorial

Products Used:

Wet N Wild Envy
MAC Amber Lights
MAC Glamour Check
MAC Goldmine
Wet N Wild Brulee'
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Carbon Black liquid eyeliner
Covergirl Volume Exact Mascara
MAC Sweet As Cocoa blush
MAC Lovin It lipstick

Nuance By Salma Hayek Eyeshadow Quad Is Very Interesting...

At CVS last week, I came across the new line produced by the beautiful actress Salma Hayek.  It's called Nuance and it is a line of cosmetics and skin care products.  The eyeshadow quad caught my attention for the obvious reason (I'm a sucker for packaging).  This is called the Beautiful Blends Neutral Eye Quad.

The packaging is like an egg shaped pod with the colors folding down like flower petals.  In the center is a sponge tip applicator.

The four colors are: Shimmering Bronze (a red-toned bronze), Champagne Gold (no color description needed), Frosted Blush (a pink-toned champagne), and Toasted Almond (a matte mid-tone brown).

Shimmering Bronze

Champagne Gold

Frosted Blush

Toasted Almond

The pigment is very tightly pressed, so the shadows are not soft.  The pigmentation is nice, though not as pigmented as the Wet N Wild shadows.  Over a primer, they held up very well throughout the day, not creasing at all.  I also found that they were easy to blend.

Toasted Almond, Frosted Blush, Champagne Gold, Shimmering Bronze

As far as the color selection, I wouldn't have necessarily chosen these four colors to go together.  But on their own, they are nice colors.  I also wish they would have included a darker matte brown instead of the Toasted Almond, which barely shows up on me.  But hey, it's not my makeup line, so I can't be choosy!

The price was $8.99 which is kind of high for a drugstore quad but like I said, I'm a sucker for packaging.  Nuance is sold exclusively at CVS.  Check it out the next time you're there!