Manicure Mondays-Revlon Starry Pink

I'm not really into glitter polish, but for some reason I was drawn to this color.  I liked the milkiness of the color.  Starry Pink has a milky pink base with large silver hexagonal and small glitter.  I needed three coats to achieve opacity.  It actually would have lasted longer on the nails but I took it off after three days.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat with Seche Vite to smooth out the glitter.  It was a b*tch to get off though.  How do you feel about glitter polish?

What's In My Travel Makeup Bag

Manicure Mondays-Orly Plum Noir

I think Orly Plum Noir has become my new favorite Fall color.  It's simply GORGEOUS!  It is a deep plum color that is very flattering to my skin tone.  There is no shimmer whatsoever in this color.  The formula (as with most Orly polishes) was buttery smooth and amazing.  Only needed two coats to achieve opacity.  I used CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  This color lasted a full 7 days before chipping!  I purchased this from Sally's Beauty Supply and I believe this is in Orly's permanent collection.  This may be back on my nails for my business trip this week, who knows?

P.S.  Have you noticed the watermark on my photos lately?  I've had some of my images stolen, so hopefully this deters anymore theft!

The Balm And The Beautiful Palette

There has been a lot of talk of this palette in the blogosphere because it has the exact same colors (just different names) as The Balm's Cast Your Shadow palette that was extremely limited edition.  I lucked up and found this at my local Marshall's store untouched and in perfect condition (sometimes their cosmetics tend to be messed over).  It was only $19.50.  It retails for $44.50 on The Balm's website.

The palette has 16 eyeshadows, 2 lip/cheek stains, 1 lipgloss, and 1 dual sided eyeshadow brush.  The theme of this palette is a soap opera so they have cute and cheeky names like 'The Guy Who Died But Didn't Really Die'.  There is a good mix of neutral colors and vibrant colors.

This was my first time using The Balm products so I was pleasantly surprised to find the eyeshadow texture to be butter smooth and soft.  These colors are nicely pigmented and they blend wonderfully.  I've used the palette about 6 times since I've purchased it.

I was also pleased to find that the cheek colors were nice also.  I used The Perfect Man on my cheeks and it stayed all day.  It gave a nice pink flush to my cheeks.  The texture was creamy without being gloopy.

Here are the swatches:

1st two rows

2nd two rows

Drama Queen, The Perfect Man, Evil Twin

Overall, I would highly recommend this palette, especially if you can find it at your local Marshall's.

Victoria's Secret Hypnotic Kajal Eyeliner Review

I purchased this about a month ago after I saw one of my favorite YouTube beauty gurus "haul" it.  It looked really interesting and the packaging was kind of cute.  So I hopped on down to my local Victoria's Secret and picked it up.

It is basically a black eye kohl but without a pencil casing.  It is packaged in a gold plastic case with an applique sticker.  The kohl twists up and comes to a point.  There is no way to sharpen it.   The liner is very black and soft.  It does not tug or pull at your lids or water line.  It is very easy to smudge and it stays put on my water line.  I honestly can get about 6 hours of wear with this on my water line (which is unheard of for me).

The only drawback to this liner is that (as I mentioned above) you cannot sharpen it.  So to work around that, I apply it at an angle so the tip will not get dull.

This is my first time trying a Victoria's Secret cosmetic and I think I may try some more.  This retails for $12 and can be purchased select locations and online.

Manicure Mondays-Dior Exquis 611

I fell in love with Dior Exquis the moment I saw it in the Holiday 2011 promo photos.  When I got it home, I thought it looked similar to China Glaze Ingrid, but I decided to keep it.  It is a gorgeous taupe with gold shimmer running through it.  It is my first foray into Dior polishes and I must say, I like them.  It was almost a one coater but I used two.  It lasted for a good 5 days before chipping.  I used my standard CND Stickey base coat and Diamond Dry top coat.  But I can say it is close enough to Ingrid to wear you wouldn't need to spend the $22 for this polish.

Get Ready With Me

Products Used In Order:

NARS Sheer Matte foundation in Syracuse
NARS Smudge Proof eyeshadow primer
Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Bronze palette
MAC MSF Natural in Med Dark
Milani Liquif'eye eye pencil in Brown
Physician's Formula Jumbo Lash mascara
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Med/Dark Bisque
MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NC 35
MAC Prep + Prime Translucent Finishing Powder
Clinique Bottom Lash mascara
NARS Casino bronzer
NARS Taj Mahal blush
MAC Thrills lipstick
MAC Brun eyeshadow (for my brows)