Favorites: May 2013

It's that time again! After a rather hellish day at work (do not get me started, trying to do the om thing and calm myself still), I mentioned previously that I skipped April Favorite because I only had two, and I didn't feel as if that was enough to do an April Favorites.

This time, I actually have more <cue cackling>, plus a non-beauty favorite :O! What could it be?!

Urban Decay Glinda Eyeshadow Palette

Graceful, fearless and bewitchingly beautiful, Glinda is the kind of witch we aspire to be. Inspired by the "good witch" from the upcoming movie OZ: The Great and Powerful, this palette includes shadow colors, eye pencil color and lip color - in short everything you need to create Glinda's spellbinding look, along with countless other looks.

This is THE palette that I have been primarily using through the month of April and May. I've also used it quite a few times in pictorials. I didn't a review on it because I figured everyone has seen it, and probably is tired of the views. But if anyone would like to see a review on here for it, please let me know! I'd be more than happy to do so. 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Rockstar

This waterproof eye pencil delivers smooth, creamy, long-lasting color that glides onto skin without skipping or tugging.

Rockstar came with the Glinda palette, and I have to say I love using this eye liner for smudging and lining my water line more so than black eyeliner. Because it's a eggplant color (deep wine/purple) it tends to make my green eyes pop more than with regular black eyeliner.

Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Glinda

Rich and creamy lipstick with insane amounts of high-gloss shine—all captured in one chubby pencil.

As the color suggests, this was the High Gloss that came with the Glinda Palette, and it is/was exclusive to it as well. Because it's such a neutral color, I love wearing it when I have a smokey eye going on.

Wet n Wild Coverall Cream Foundation in Fair [review]

Glides on weightlessly for sheer-to-medium coverage that’s never heavy, chalky, or dull. Evens out flaws with a silky, semi-matte finish that let’s your skin’s natural luminescence shine through. Contains SPF 15 for the ultimate in anti-aging treatment.

Yes, this is the only foundation that I have been using during the month of May! Actually the one in the photo is nearly finished as well, I ended up getting a back-up once I'm done.

NYX Butter Gloss in Cherry Pie [review]

Add a little more sweetness to your lips with a touch of the Butter Lip Gloss available in 12 scrumptious colors! Get creamy sheer to medium coverage on your lips without that sticky sensation. It’s perfect for every sweet tooth!

Yes, this was in a favorites before and I still love it! For me it's the perfect red that actually works well with my skintone without being over the top.

Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush in Rose [review]

Irresistibly Sexy Blushing Glow: Wear this perfect blend of shimmery blushing tones like lingerie for your face for an instant sexy boost with an alluring blushing glow.

Sexy Boosting Formula: infused with the scent of warm vanilla, "afterglow" illumination and pheromone-mimicking ingredients including clinically tested Androstadienone, Cocoa Extract (aka "the Love Chemical") and ancient aphrodisiac Horny Goatweed to enhance your sexy side.

Besides using a tint a tiny handful of times, this is mainly the only blush I have been using during the month of May, which is odd because I do have other blushes! But I absolutely love this one, not to mention the scent!

Studio Gear Cosmetics Impactfull Pro T.L.S. Mascara [review]

Studio tested, high impact Pro T.L.S. Mascara by Studio Gear THICKENS, LENGTHENS and SEPARATES the lashes, delivering maximum fullness and flare.

I definitely LOVE this mascara. I'm actually not sure, but I think I'm nearly running on E :( I've been using it sparingly since, but I'm honestly gearing up to just purchasing the full size. Although I am leery of that for reasons.

Orly Nail Lacquer in Mayhem Mentality

Take risks. Rock opposites. Start a riot with envy-inciting style. Now is the time to blur the line between energetic and outrageous - with Mash Up, the Summer 2013 collection from ORLY.

Although the formula for Orly polishes do not like my nails (instant chipping), I absolutely ADORE this color. It's like a neon-tangerine color. This was actually my polish to transition from springy colors to hot weather colors. Which certain, nameless folk at work do not like.

Non-Beauty Favorite... Drum Roll

Courtesy of Google

The Hobbit!

Yes, even though I started watching it late May, I have been kicking myself for not watching it sooner. I adored the Lord of the Rings movies, books as well as The Hobbit, but I didn't see the film adaption in the theater when it was released. Definitely something odd for me being I saw Fellowship of the Ring 15 times in theater (I'm quite serious, I have the stubs to prove it! I even dressed up as an elf for The Two Towers :O). And right now, like many of the fans, I'm eagerly awaiting the trailer for Desolation of Smaug! AH! Such a long wait!

Have any May Favorites of your own?

Definitely feel free to share, if you have a blog or even a YouTube, feel free to link to the post/video in the comments, I'll check them out!

 

Weekly Manicure: Tangerine Mayhem

It's manicure time! On Friday, I had discovered that Harmon's had the new Orly collection. Like always the brightest color caught my eye, Mayhem Mentality. Once I got home, I quickly removed the polish I had been wearing and applied Mayhem Mentality. 

Of course, my Love/Hate relationship with Orly continues. I love, love, love the colors; but the formula itself, hates me. Didn't even have the polish on a full day and the chipping began. By Monday I had a total of six chips occur, four repairs had already been done. Sigh. This happens all the time with Orly polishes with me. 

This manicure came about after I receive quite a few... unnecessary insults from someone at work over the color of the polish. Seriously, I could go on a very lengthy rant over it, but I'm refraining from doing so.

So, onto the MANICURE!

Due to my chipping issue that I was experience, but wanting to keep using Mayhem Mentality. I ended up pairing it with JulieG Frosted Gumdrops in Tangerine Dream. 

Mayhem Mentality is such a gorgeous neon orange (I almost want to say it's like a neon coral) that it drives my camera CRAZY. Rather fitting huh?

1. Base coat first.
2. I painted both the ring fingers and thumbs with Tangerine Dream. 
3. Then taped over the tips, creating a v-shape. 
4. Painted Mayhem Mentality on first (two coats). Removed the tape while the polish was still wet.
5. Being Mayhem Mentality dries down to a semi-matte finish, I applied a quick dry top coat on while avoiding the area of the nail that was still bare (besides the base coat).
6. Then following along the edge of Mayhem Mentality, I painted Tangerine Dream onto the tips. Two coats of that.
7. Clean up with an angle brush and polish remover.
8. Done!

Taken using a Natural setting on my camera to capture Mayhem Mentality

Taken with my regular camera setting.

If anyone would like to see a tutorial for this, please let me know! :D

To Dupe or Not To Dupe: Green With Envy vs. Green Apple vs. Innocent

Welcome to another edition of To Dupe or Not To Dupe! For this round, it's a lime green edition. I was actually surprised by how many lime greens I have, but narrowed it down to only three. 

I wasn't expecting the out come though, as the swatches on the nail plate differ drastically than the swatches I did on myself (is that normal?).

Lets jump right to it!

Base coat used O.P.I. Nail Envy, no top coat used.

Starting off with Sally Hansen (Hard as Nails) Xtreme Wear in Green With Envy. Photographing the bottle actually makes it appear darker (this was an issue I was having with lighting), but it's actually a lovely lime green cream, that definitely has a yellow tone to it.

I used two coats to get it fully opaque. No real issues with the application, it went on fairly smoothly, with only minor balding with the first coat which was easily fixed with the second.

Next up is Orly Green Apple. Another cream polish. Unlike the first one, this one definitely comes across as having more of a... blue hue to it. It photographs as being more of a mint color and to me, falls into the cool field.

Application with this one was tricky. The formula was very runny, so I had to keep going back to the bottle to get the excess off, it would just flow down and pool onto the nail. The good thing though, I only had to use two coats, despite the pooling of polish.

Finally, Sinful Colors in Innocent. The third cream. This one is a light moss yellow-green. Innocent definitely is more of a yellow tone green compared to Green With Envy.

The formula on this one was thicker than the other two, other than that there weren't any other issues. Might have been thicker, but it was the one that gave me fewer issues. Two coats were used to get it fully opaque.

The comparison.

I certainly have to say, the way these colors translated to the nail plate, were so off it isn't even funny. I was definitely surprised by the out come of this because they look SO very similar. Two have a yellow tone to them (one more so than the other) while the other is a cool tone (mint) green. In the bottles it's even difficult to tell, although Green Apple looks slightly off even there.

Would I call them dupes? Absolutely not. The three of them are very different.

Price Range: Orly Polishes go for $8.50 on the Orly website. Sinful Colors go for $1.99 at Walgreens. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear start from $2.12 and up (depending on where you shop).

Disclaimer: Products mentioned in the post were purchased by myself. None of the links featured are affiliates.

To Dupe or Not To Dupe: Ingenue vs. Faye vs. It's My Year

Good Evening/Afternoon/Morning!

I'm hitting everything there, for me it's evening and instead of working on my February Favorites (erk!), I wanted to get the third in my series of To Dupe or Not To Dupe up.

A quick explanation, this is basically me going through my nail polish stash and finding colors that happen to be similar or possible dupes. Oddly enough it always seems to be a limited edition polish versus a Zoya polish. Which I can assure anyone, is not done on purpose.

Without further ado! The third in the series! Rather anticlimactic there, boss.

Quick disclaimer - I just wish to apologize in advance as some of the photos (namely the swatch photos) were taken while I was testing out the setting features.

I honestly have to say, I was surprised that I had three variations of this color. And to the untrained eye (like my Mom's), they all appear to be the same.

Base coat that was used, Revlon Post Trauma Nail Treatment. No top coat used.

First up, is O.P.I. It's My Year. This one was released in 2011 and was part of the Miss Universe collection. It's My Year comes across as having a darker purple-berry base compare to the other two. It's a slightly richer shade. The gold duochrome seems to be less compared to both Faye and Ingenue. It's there, it just comes across as more subdue.

It's sheer, using three coats on the swatch to get it opaque. However, I can still see the tip of my nail so I believe a fourth coat would have worked better to get it fully opaque.

Next up, Faye.

Faye was part of Zoya's Sunshine Collection and is a permanent color on the site. Something of which I love about Zoya, they don't retire colors. Anyway, Zoya's website describes Faye as: A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle. Faye is definitely a bronzed-mauve with purple undertones, however I'm not certain where brown comes in. When photograph, I'd have to say it comes across as more of a taupe purple undertone instead. The duochrome of gold definitely stands out far more than It's My Year.

The application was a little tricky with the first coat as it caused some balding by the cuticle area. Three coats were used, but I'll be honest, I should have added two more. It seems a little patchy near the tip edges.

Next! Ingenue.

Last out of the three is Orly's Ingenue. This polish came out in 2011 with the Holiday Soireé collection and is still available on Orly's website. This one is also a bronzed mauve with a purple base. The gold duochrome being just as noticeable as Faye's duochrome.

Two coats were used, where (I'm seeing the trend here, I blame the lighting I use when I do swatches) a third should have been used as the formula is a bit sheer.

The comparison.

It's My Year definitely lacks with the gold duochrome with the purple/berry base being more noticeable. However, I have to say, Faye and Ingenue are practically dupes. The base colors appears to be the same, along with the gold overlay. The only difference would be that Faye appears to have a bit more gold to it.

Would I call them dupes? Two out of three, yes.

Price Range: O.P.I. Polishes can range from $6.99 and up. Orly Polishes go for $8.50 on the Orly website. Zoya polishes are priced at $8.00 on the Zoya website.

 Disclaimer: Products mentioned in the post were purchased by myself. None of the links featured are affiliates.

A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle.  - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/38/item/Zoya/nail-polish-zoya-nail-polish-Faye-ZP551.html#sthash.MA3oVpeD.dpuf

A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle.  - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/38/item/Zoya/nail-polish-zoya-nail-polish-Faye-ZP551.html#sthash.MA3oVpeD.dpuf

A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle.  - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/38/item/Zoya/nail-polish-zoya-nail-polish-Faye-ZP551.html#sthash.MA3oVpeD.dpuf

A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with bright gold sparkle. - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/38/item/Zoya/nail-polish-zoya-nail-polish-Faye-ZP551.html#sthash.MA3oVpeD.dpuf

Quick Review: Fabulous Flamingo

First off, Beauty Parfait now has a facebook fanpage.

Second, on Friday I ended up going to Big Lots, and while I'm there I always go to their little cosmetic area. They had received a new shipment of various cosmetics, among their new stash was several Orly polishes... for a $1.00!! One warning, check your bottles, I came across several that had polish all over the outside. That might not be a big deal, but I just wanted to put it out there.

Not quite a hot pink as it dries down a bit darker. I'd want to say that this is a reddish or warm tone pink, almost like a watermelon color. It is gorgeous, but definitely on the sheer side. At first it seemed to have dried matte with the first layer, but after the second it stopped. It took four coats to achieve full opaqueness.

I haven't been able to find the Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez polish yet, but I am wondering if this would be a possible dupe for the Scarlett color of that line.

Ring finger has light layer of Goldeneye with Strobe Light on top.

Disclaimer: Product featured in this post was purchased by myself.

(Last) Weekly Manicure: Maroon Gold

I actually forgot to post this last week for my manicure series (oops!), my co-worker actually named this manicure for me.

Base coat used, Revlon's Post Trauma Nail Treatment. After letting that dry, I used two coats of Orly's Happily Ever After. After letting that dry, I cleaned up around the nail and cuticle, then started the opposite dry brush gradient (I watched Lucy's Stash tutorial on glitter gradient) using Wet n Wild Chrome polish in A Show at the Palladium (let me know if you know why I bought this!). I started at the cuticle then would just drag the brush up towards the tip of the nail and just kept building from there on each nail.

Letting that dry, I wanted some more sparkle, which is when my Sally Hansen Strobe Light comes in. Light layer of that over each nail, then I topped it off with Inm Out the Door.

End result?

Disclaimer: Products mentioned are my own.


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