Weekend Surfing Round Up

Here's a couple of posts that caught my eye this week:

• Make Up Geek has a beautiful pink, purple and peach look going on
• Temptalia has the new China Glaze Poolside collection up. My favorite is Sun Worshipper
• Jellyminx Thinks has a great peach and coral eye makeup tutorial to check out
• I thought Ruffian has the best nails at NY Fashion Week, and Emerald Sparkled has posted her own Ruffian inspired mani

Yes, not very many posts this week, but that's because I've been focusing on getting heaps of content up as I will not be able to really the internet at all this week as my in-laws are staying with us. I miss my wee blog! Don't worry, I'll be back soon for sure :)

Nails of the Week: OPI My Private Jet

 

This is OPI My Private Jet. Oh, I love this polish!! It reminds me of a glossier Orly Glam Rock. The swatch color shows much more brown than it looks in real life, which is closer to gray/black. I absolutely love these dark colors. The shimmer is complete smooth and adds a gorgeous rich dimension, moving it from goth to chic. Heart. Swoon. Love. 

Puppy Shot of the Day

3 forms of entertain means Moose will stay out of trouble for at least 10 minutes ...

Korres Cleansing Wipes Are A Sweet Sweet End To The Day

I scored the Limited Edition Korres Prep, Prime, Perfect kit ($39.50) from Sephora the other day. If you see one in your local store, I would highly recommend snagging one, as it is showing as out of stock online. I've been intrigued by Korres for a couple of years, but for some reason, never actually got around to trying their products. I know that they are Greek, and are homeopathic based products. Although they are not organic, they are natural enough that Whole Foods  sells them in their body shops. There are no parabens, mineral oils, or propylene glycol. So, the bottom line is that they are on the more "natural" side of the scale. I need to think of a better word than that, and I would also like to point out that natural does not necessarily mean good, but that's a debate for another time.

The kit has Wild Rose Cream, which Korres are famous fore, Wild Rose Serum, Pomegranate Wipes, a Primer, Foundation, Mascara, and Lip Butter.

So far, I have only tried out the wipes. I have never actually used facial wipes before, because I thought that the whole wipe concept was firstly expensive, and secondly wasteful. My parents have always been big into the concept of waste, and therefore I've never really been allowed "disposal" products. We didn't drink bottled water, but had refillable bottles everywhere; we always bought our fruit and veg from the loose produce section, that kind of thing. Therefore something that I used and threw away every day was always an alien concept to me. But that's not to say that I'm not a lazy so-and-so, and there have definitely been times when I have been too tired and lazy to take off my make up last thing at night. Oh no, I can hear the sharp intake of breathes across the nation as person writing about beauty commits cardinal sin. No one's perfect, okay?!

When I opened these, I was greeted with the most delicious, fresh, sweet scent of pomegranate. It was really amazing and fabulous. Pomegranate is rich in anti-oxidants, tightens pores, and tones and refreshes skin, or says the back of the packet. I definitely felt all of the above. They did feel gorgeous and fresh and my skin felt clean afterwards. I could see plenty of make up residue that they had lifted off (definitely a benefit of wipes which I like!) I used them at night though, and the next morning some more mascara had smudged under my eyes, so I don't think that they are the best at removing all make-up, and would definitely struggle with waterproof mascara.

25 wipes retails for $12, which I think is rather pricey, even with that gorgeous yummy scent and the gorgeous clean feeling afterwards. I don't know if I'd buy these again, unless I felt like a yummy treat last thing at night. Is there really such a thing as special occasion cleanser?

Working My Stash Update

Again, I have managed to introduce a couple of new things and try some new looks out using my stash. A Brilliant Brunette inspired me to do an orange and cranberry eye which was gorgeous and a lot of fun. I took some of my unloved pieces with me in vacation with the idea that I would be forced into using them and discovering new favorite this way. One of them was the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk which great white base to make colors pop even more, so it’s a great one to use when you are doing a colorful eye. Another winner from this trick was the MAC Holiday 09 Palette in Mystic Cool, which I used for a look here and here. I just cannot make up my mind whether I want to depot these palettes or not. They are so pretty, but I just know that if I depotted them I would use them more. Then again, by not, they become very good for travel, Six to one, half a dozen to the other…

This is one of my favorite Temptalia looks, and I used Freshwater and my UD 24/7 liner in Binge for it when going for date with my man the other night. He is a sucker for that black cat’s eye liner. Samoa has not been used, but I did post about my love for all things peach or melon toned here. It has some serious competition from Benefit’s Nice Melons and Elf’s Mineral Shadow in Natural, but I do feel confident that they can all get along. Stila’s Kitten is one shadow in this school that did get a reasonable amount of face time this month – I’ve used it on a couple of lazy morning single shadow looks. I do find that it has a tendency to sneak all over my face though! I was wondering if I could mix it with my MAC Gloss to make a lip gloss though?

Anyone following my twitter feed would know that I’ve recently rediscovered MAC Dazzleglass Crème in Perfectly Unordinary as gorgeous over Covergirl lipstain Everbloom Kiss. It’s pretty, girl, and spring like. It was worn on the date with my lovely husband.

MAC Sense of Style Kohl Power Liner
MAC Raven Liner Kohl Power Liner

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk 

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean

NYX Glitter Liner in Silver

NYX Glitter Liner in Blue
NYX Glitter Liner in Candy
MAC E/S in Swimming

MAC E/S in Mythology

MAC E/S in Expensive Pink

MAC E/S in Off the Page

MAC E/S in Crest the Wave

MAC L/S in Creme De Nude

MAC L/S in Myth

MAC Pigment in Cocomotion

MAC Pigment in Brash and Bold

MAC Pigment in Mutiny
MAC E/S in Samoa

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Gold

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Blue

MAC E/S in Sweet Lust

MAC E/S in Copperplate

MAC E/S in Passionate

U/D Book of Shadows Vol II

MAC E/S in Twinks

MAC E/S in Freshwater

MAC E/S in Strike a Pose

MAC Eye Palette in Sorceress

MAC Eye Palette in Mystic Cool

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Lust

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Ransom

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Electric

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Binge

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Rockstar

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Stash

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Covet

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Graffiti

MAC Paint Pot in Artifact

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

Stila Smudge Pot in Violet

Stila Smudget Pot in Starry Night

NYX Glitter in Silver

NYX Glitter in Gold

NYX Glitter in Apple

NYX Glitter in Hot Pink

NYX Pigment in Nude Pearl

NYX Pigment in Pearl

NYX Glitter in Blue

Rimmel L/S Coral in Gold

MAC L/S Impassioned

NARS Matte Lip Velvet Pencil in Belle De Jour

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Creme Allure

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Totally Fab

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Perfectly Unordinary

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

Stila Lip Glaze in Starfruit

MAC Lipglass in Elle

MAC Lustreglass in Wonderstruck

MAC Lipglass in Beaute

MAC Lipglass in Totally It

MAC Lustreglass in Morning Glory

MAC Lustreglass in Pinkerat

MAC Lipglass in Silly Girl

MAC Lustreglass in Ensign

MAC Lipglass in Cruise Control

MAC E/S in Cranberry

Revlon Cherries in the Snow

Clinique Black Honey

MAC E/S Showstopper

MAC Shadestick Cuddle

MAC Shadestick Nurture

Two new additions are two shadesticks from MAC’s Warm and Cozy Collection – Cuddle and Nurture. I’ve been pretty good about using the rest of my Warm and Cozy and all Races collection – they are so very wearable which is nice, although, like everybody, I’m super excited by the bright colors of the recent Spring Color Forecast. That one I imagine will be a lot harder to work into every day practice! I’m actually quite surprised this month by how much I’ve manage to try and at least try out. I’m not too worried about the lack of activity on the NYX Glitter section – one day their time will come! I’m rearranging my palettes this month to take into account a recent depotting fest, and I’m hoping that rearranging my color families will open my eyes up to some more options as well. I actually have heaps of FOTD ideas that I need to work through and photograph to put up here as well. Promises, promises.

Next update in a month!

Elf Sale

Just a quick note to say I got an email yesterday that there's 50% off all Elf Studio products if you spend $15 or more. I've tried out a couple of Elf's Studio products, and I would highly recommend them - especially at 50% off!! I have to admit that I don't really rate their regular products. I know they are only $1, but for the most part they are poor quality and a waste of money. Anyway, on to top picks!

Not sure what to try?

The Powder Brush saved me from falling out with my MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation.

The Small Smudge Brush is great for gel eyeliners like Bobbi Brown or MAC's Fluidline.

The Blush Brush is a great size for controlled blush and contouring.

The Lipstains in Fashionista and Birthday Suit are both great wearable pinks, although slightly drying on lips.

You can see all my Elf reviews here and here.

I'm definitely going to be checking out this sale, and am thinking about picking up the Brow Powder, Fan Brush and the High Definition Powder which is meant to rival MUFE's HD powder. Anything other recommendations on good Elf studio products for me to try out during this deal? Coupon Code is STUDIOSAVE

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links do not influence product reviews in any way. 

MAC Spring Color Forecast FOTD

It's a beautiful day here in NYC - the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and there's barely a cloud in the sky. What better time to play around with MAC's latest collection - Spring Color Forecast?

I love this collection. It's so bright and fun and spring-like, with colors that will attact anyone eye. The fact that there are four separate color collections based on Pink, Coral, Plum, and Amber means there's a little something for everyone.

I wanted to wear something easy and straightforward today as we were just going for breakfast. It's just a very light sunset eyes look with light base and simple lips. Hot Hot Hot is such a fun pink to wear - so far it hasn't made me look ill once - always a risk! :)

Everything MAC unless stated

Eyes:
MAC Paint in Bare Canvas
Inner lid: Nanogold
Middle Lid: Straw Harvest
Outer Lid:Hot Hot Hot
Browbone: Nanogold

Base:
My own tinted moisteriser using Kiehls Ultra Facial Lotion, MAC Studio Sculpt in NW25, and a touch of MAC Strobe Cream
MAC Select Moisture Cover in NW20

Cheeks
NARS Orgasm Illuminator
Benefit Posie Tint

Lips
NARS Dolce Vita Lipstick

Build My Brows Baby

If there is one thing that I really struggle with, it is my eyebrows. I have officially the world's WORST eyebrows. Bizarrely, my sister has the most amazingly perfect eyebrows ever. Anyway, mine are weirdly both sparse and caterpillar like. Urgh. I get them shaped at the Anastasia Brow Bar at Sephora, and I also need to fill them in. For the last 4 months I have been using Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel ($21) to fill them in. This works like a clear brow gel or mascara in that it coats your brow hairs with darker color. The gel comes in 5 shades: Graphite, Espresso, Brunette, Caramel, and Blonde. I use Caramel.

The first couple of times I used it I had a hard time controlling the amount of color that went on, and I ended up with crazy painted brows. I used clear brow gel afterwards to thin out the color when I went too heavy. I got the hang of it pretty quickly (light touch and repeat), and now swear by this product for not too over the top brows - Your Brows But Better if you like.

This is my brows using them:

 

Ooh look, there's still a stray one there, but it definitely cannot be blamed on the brow gel! 

Glittery Gorgeousness from Urban Decay

Stila aren’t the only people to get into the glittery eye shadow trend this spring: Urban Decay have also brought out a brand new line of sparklers called Stardust Eye Shadow. They come in some new, rubberized packaging that requires you to squeeze the sides to get them to open up which is pretty cool. Although maybe it means that the top pops off spraying glitter everywhere… Hmm, I have only played with these in store so far – I haven’t had a chance to bring one of these bad boys home yet.

My first impression from the very eager swatching I did in Sephora the other day is that these colors are very sheer, and they are very sparkly. I actually really like the sheerness – it almost lends a glossy look with all that sparkly shining through, although some may wish that the colors packed more punch. As I have only swatched so far, I do not know whether these colors are buildable. I did like how smooth they applied though – no chunky grittiness here.  I was also very impressed with the level of sparkle – these guys aren’t messing around! With that level of shine, fall out might become an issue, but Urban Decay promises that there will be none - big words there! 

They come in 9 colors, including black, white, gray, beige, turquoise and green. I definitely think that adding one or two to your summer look adds some serious fun to your look. I’m thinking the turquoise blue paired with a coral or raspberry gloss and a big smile screams summer. What about you?

Lush Lemony Flutter Softens Me Right Up

 

I have not really been taking care of my cuticles for a while now, so when I came across
Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter ($13.25 / 1.5oz) I got all excited. Not only does it smell citrusy it divine, it promised to repair my cuticles and even dry patches on my elbows and heels as well. It has shea butter, avocado oil, and mango butters to moisturize your skin. 

First thing to say is that this tub is HUGE! I only need a teeny tiny dab on my cuticles. I literally will be using this thing for years. I'm actually going to take a chunk of this into a smaller tub and keep another tub on my desk at work to keep moisturizing whilst I work on Excel.

When I started using this my cuticles and hands in general were really dry, and not in the best shape. This cuticle butter definitely softened them up and made them much happier and healthier. Definite win. Highly recommended.

This post contains an affiliate link. Affiliate links in no way influence the opinions of reviews on this site.

Puppy Shot of the Day

I just found this in my photo album while searching for something else. Moose is about 14 weeks old here. Wasn't he just the cutest? Now he's all grown up.

Nails of the Week: China Peachy Keen

 

China Glaze Peachy Keen from their recent Up & Away collection. This is after a few days of wear, so there's a little bit of wear and tear. Doesn't this one scream summer? Yum. 

Sugar Sweet Bombs and Navel Gazing

Yesterday was a bit of a weird day. Every day I have to walk past the New York Fashion Week Tents every day - they are actually outside where I work. At the start of Fashion Week, I love them, I'm inspired, and excited, and awed by the glamour and gorgeousness of my favorite industry. Fashion, and as part of that beauty, is my first love. I've always been passionate about clothes and trends and styles, and fiercely believed in using fashion as a means to express my own personality.

However, I do not work in fashion. I work in IT for a major financial company. I love to write about beauty products here, and wish that I did more fashion things here (the only thing that holds me back is that fashion pictures can be so difficult to do), but at a certain point during NYFW I realised just how far away I am from where my heart lies. This is not about how many readers I have here (I'm surprised anyone reads at all!), but rather the larger question of how far I am away from working in the industry I love. I do plan on taking this blog as far as I can take it and maybe even cover some aspects of NYFW in September or Feb next year, but right now, I feel far away and lost from myself and my own sense of style. I am surrounded by so much gorgeousness and style and beauty that right now I simply feel a sense of disappointment in myself that I am not dressing better, making better style choices, wearing heels, rocking harem pants, layering effortlessly, and taking beautiful inspirational photos of stylish things. Instead, I'm rocking in my jammies here wearing glasses and not being at all chic. Sigh.

Anyway, I decided to think about cheering myself up by talking a wander through Walgreens at lunchtime. I was thinking of getting some of the new Maybelline quads, and I've heard rumors of a collection that is similar to MAC's Sugar Sweet last year, and I've also been dying for some of the new Wet N Wild nail varnishes. I would have thought that a three storey Walgreens in Times Square would have a good selection of things: my how I was wrong! So, no chance of a sneaky lunchtime drugstore haul. Maybe that's not a bad thing - put some money back in my pocket ;)

This isn't an all bad things post - am rocking the Sugarbomb Box of Powder  from Benefit like nothing else, and I've been loving my new lip combination which is Cover Girl Lipstain in Everbloom Kiss with MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Perfectly Unordinary. Both are girly, pretty, sweet, fun and generally spring like. See, I knew something would put a smile of my face eventually :)

Yay! I'm having a contest :)

I made it to 50 followers!! Wow, I'm so thrilled, I didn't think that I would ever have anyone read my lil, blog. It's only been 2mths, but I'm super happy, and love meeting new readers and discovering new reads. It's like a whole little world out there!

Anyways, to celebrate, I've got a lil giveaway going.

The winner will receive:

• 1 MAC Shale Pro Pan Eyeshadow
• 1 Lush Snow Fairy Showergel
• 1 Kiehls Lip Balm (the best!)
• 1 Essie Mink Muffs Nail Varnish
• 1 NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Rose Brown

The competition is open to everyone, US resident or otherwise.

To win:

1. You must be a follower
2. You must leave a comment on this post
3. For an extra chance to win, tweet the following on twitter: "RT @scarlettholly win kiehls, mac, essie and lush here http://bit.ly/ak7x8l

The competition is open until Mar 1st, and I'll pick a random name and be in touch then.

Good luck! :)

EOTD Blue Smoky Eyes Using MAC Holiday 09

I’ve been obsessed with blue smoky eyes for a while, and have been using MAC’s Blue Flame from Style Black alternated with NARS Night Flight to build up that dark blue glitter. For some reason, I think that a blue smoky eye is much more modern, edgy, and rocky than the more traditional one built with blacks, grays, and silvers.

This was one done using MAC’s Mystic Cool Palette from Holiday 09. I’ve done a look before from this palette, where I mentioned that the colors themselves are not obviously complementary. The blues together are gorgeous though. In putting this look together, I didn’t want to use any eyeliner on the upper lid, as I thought that it would start to look like those 80s smoky eyes which are so planned and constructed. This is much softer, more organic, and smudgier than that.

Base: Paint in Bare Canvas, and NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Inner: Turquoise
Outer: Dark Blue
Crease: Dark Brown (very little)
Lower Lid: Zero and Dark Blue
Tear Duct and Brow Bone: Shimmery Gold Highlighter

What is Beauty Blogging's Place?

Yesterday morning, the hot topic among beauty bloggers on Twitter was this article on beauty blogging, and a make up artist / journalist’s surprise at seeing bloggers being treated as Press at the recent IMATS fair in the UK. The writer’s opinion was that beauty blogging should not be viewed as professional journalism with the associated required experience and knowledge, and because of that, should not be treated in a way that is comparable to Mainstream Media. She went on to talk about the focus on the “new” that bloggers have, and the behavior and opinions of the two bloggers she encountered.

As you can imagine, I have a number of issues with this article and the opinions of this writer. The first is that this article seems to be incredibly late. The blogging as a challenge to mainstream media reared its head several years ago, and it has been proven that time and time again, non-professionals with few barriers to entry (e.g. bloggers) can provide significant challenge to traditional press and professional bodies. Take the example of 538.com, which started off as a political polling blog applying the rules used in baseball statistics to political polling, which ended up being the most consistently accurate polling in the 2008 election. Or Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes who has now collaborated with Urban Outfitters on a shoe collection. New York Fashion Week has been on constant Tavi-watch, the 15 year old with a strong sense of what she likes and isn’t afraid to wear Comme des Garcons in geometry class, or blue hair to Fashion Week. Tavi’s been on the cover of magazines, written columns for Bazaar and Pop, and a video documentary for the Target / Rodarte collection. Beauty blogging has its own example with Lauren Luke who has collaborated with Sephora on a collection and writes reviews for The Guardian. This argument is old. And as Tavi said, if editors didn’t like or benefit from bloggers, they wouldn’t feature them in their magazines.

The writer appeared to struggle with the absolute nil barriers to entry that blogging has, and therefore that anyone with an opinion can do it, whether that they are a professional or not. This is true. I cannot claim that I know everything about every single beauty product, or that I can list the active ingredients in my moisturizer. But there are several aspects to this argument. The first is that there are beauty bloggers out there who can, and do. There are many professional make up artists who blog. However, I am assuming that she is referring to the non-professionals who blog simply because they love beauty products, and base their reviews on their own personal experiences. The first thought I have on that is questioning how that is different to a beauty editor in a magazine, which, at the end of the day, is still simply an opinion of one, or a few people. Yes, they might have more access to information, yes they might be able to do interviews on why a product works, but there is also an evergrowing sense of unease about the relationship between editorial and advertisement in magazines, and just how much paying for a two page spread can influence the coverage a product receives. Ironically, the FTC guidelines require bloggers to state when items have been provided for review for PR purposes, but traditional, or mainstream media, where the bulk of PR attention and freebies are sent, there are no such requirements. Furthermore, just as for every good blogger there are bad ones, the same exists in traditional media as well.

The author writes in an incredulous tone about the impact of these bloggers’ opinions to make or break products. To me, this makes sense. As people lose faith and turn away from MSM (circulation is down on many of the biggest magazines this year, and has been falling steadily for years), other opinion makers are filling in the gaps, namely style and beauty bloggers. Where a person could once get one opinion, they can now get tens of hundreds of opinions. Furthermore, the ability to interact and build relationships with bloggers, get second opinions, become part of a community all leads to bloggers becoming opinion formers in their own way. PR companies are catching up with this (just check Twitter to see whether your favorites brands are there and what they tweet), and some brands, such as ELF, are building their marketing campaigns around the new dynamic.

Does this spell the end of the expert? Of course not. But it opens a way for other people, people who can write well and whose opinions are valid, into the conversation to share. To complain about this phenomenon is pointless – it’s happened already, and continues to do so. Recognize that the paradigm has shifted, embrace the new voices, join the conversation, learn things you didn’t, and embrace the access to multitudes of knowledge and voices. 

As you can imagine, I'm not the only person to have written about this. Lipstick Rules and Lipglossiping have also written well informed responses to this post. Definitely check them out.

Cool Blues: China Glaze Varnish Swatches

 

From top: Custom Kicks, Flyin' High

Ever get to that stage when you look at your collection and you realize you have 17 shades that are oh-so-similar? You know I have, especially when it comes peach eye shadows. I also have this situation when it comes to my nail varnish hauls. I buy all my nail varnish online as it's so much cheaper (thank you transdesign!), but does mean relying on swatches online, which are not always easy to compare. Here's the first in my collection of almost dupes which hopefully will help you decide if you need both!

China Glaze Custom Kicks came out last year as part of the Kicks collection. I personally adore this color. It is a beautiful teal with gorgeous gold shimmer through it. This makes the most heavenly fun pedicure. It would be fun as a mani I'm sure as well - I just have not gotten around to trying it like that.

China Glaze Flyin' High is a blue toned teal creme, with absolutely no shimmer. This color is a little less va-va-voom than Custom Kicks, but still pretty. For some reason, I think I'm going to enjoy this more in Fall than right now, with that slightly cool tone. For me, it is less of a must-have than Custom Kicks.

Do you have them both? Which is your favorite?

Controversial Post: I Don't Like Mint Nail Varnish

 

Top to bottom: China Glaze Refresh Mint, Essie Mint Candy Apple, China Glaze For Audrey

There, I said it. I've been thinking it a while. At first, I succombed the the trend, oohing and ahhing over Essie's Mint Candy Apple. Then, in the excitement of China's Up & Away Collection, Refresh Mint was standing out as a fun shade. But somehow, in the transition to swooning over swatches on All Laquered Up and actually wearing them on my fingers, something happened, and it looked like I was wearing colored white-out on my nails. Instead of exciting and different, it looked tacky and childish. And so I'm stopping. No more mint for me. Oh, I swatched China Glaze For Audrey with the other two, but have decided it's more a cool blue, rather than a mint green. I can keep.

For those who still are on the mint green trend, For Audrey is as close to a Tiffany blue as I have found, and not really a mint. Mint Candy Apple is a cool, blue toned mint. I've worn this one before and it was a complete pain to apply - streaky, uneven, urgh. China Glaze Refresh Mint is more of a green-toned mint. Again, not easy to apply.

What about you? Are there any color trends that you have hopped on board before realizing that you absolutely hate them?

Stila's Jewel Palette Makes a Shiny Shiny Mess

Stila's latest spring offering is the Jewel Eye Shadow Palette Quad ($32) quad of four creamy, glittery shadows. The colors are Golden Topaz, which a orange-brown with silver glitter, Amethyst which is a dark purple with gold glitter, Black Diamond which is black with silver glitter, and finally Rose Quartz which is a medium pink with silver glitter. I have to admit that I was quite surprised by the timing of this product: because of the drama and glittery feel, I felt that this would be an awesome holiday product, rather than Spring. It is not the largest palette and you can see from the comparison pictures, it is about half the size of a MAC quad.

Ooooh, I so wanted to love this. Just look at those colors!! Temptalia adored this palette, likening the colors to giving your eyes a wet look, which is an eye effect that I simply adore. And when I swatched it, I was still feeling good about it. The colors swatched sheerly as I expected, but were buildable, and I could definitely see that gorgeous, decadent, wet look feel. So far, so good.

L-R Golden Topaz, Amethyst, Black Diamond, Rose Quartz

I applied this over Elf Eye Primer which I've been keeping in rotation with my Urban Decay Primer and MAC Paint. I used Golden Topaz and Rose Quartz, and wow, they certainly packed a glitter punch! I loved the sheer orange tones and the pink was also really pretty. On the lid, the wet look wasn't quite as dynamic as it was when swatched, but was still pretty. The glitter was very striking, and that's the point of the palette, so it certainly delivers there.

 

Size comparison with MAC Quad

However, an hour later I went to the bathroom, and holy bejesus, FALL OUT!! I literally had a glitter attack all over my cheeks. It was crazy insane. I cleaned myself up, although glitter fall out is a bit of a nightmare to clean up (you can never get it all off, ever!), and then a couple of hours later, even more had migrated down my cheeks. This is most definitely not a long haul product.

This product packs a heavy duty glitter punch, and is definitely dramatic. Unfortunately it cannot be trusted to stay put, and you may end up with a glitter explosion all over your face.

This post contains an affiliate link. Affiliate links in no way influence the reviews on this site. 

Spring Color Forecast Haul Part 2

As I posted last week, I knew I was going to have to take MAC's Spring Color Forecast in stages as it is such an overwhelming collection. This week I headed back to my MAC counter without the puppy and came away with a few more pieces.

 

One of the products I was most excited about was the Stacked 2! Pigments ($32.50). These are a different texture from normal pigments, and closer to Solar Bits from Style Warriors last summer (the first MAC collection I got excited about, incidentally). For those who are not familiar with those, they are much lumpier feel almost wet when touched. They are incredibly rich and soft. 

As you can see, the colors are a true gold, an antique or green tinged gold, a copper tinged gold, and a more pink or melon gold. They have a very high shine quotient, so I can see these being fun to add as a base, or smudging on the crease to add some drama, but not using all over, apart from something over the top. Not that there's anything wrong with being over the top sometimes!

I am a real sucker for golds - they are probably my biggest weakness when it comes to make up. And really, anything gold - highlighter, bronzer, lip colors - anything with gold just sings to me! So this palette ($36) was always going to come home with me. The palette is in the new packaging which apparently all palettes will be in from now on. I much prefer it - it looks like an upgrade to me - a little more put together and durable. 

L-R Manila Paper, Flip, Aztec Brick, Creole Beauty

Manila Paper is a smooth light gold with a touch of shimmer

Flip is a light red or peach gold. Again it has a hint of shimmer. It reminds me of all my other peachy golds that I posted about it, so I'm bound to like it. It did swatch the worst out of the four though. 

Aztec Brick is a rich copper. This swatched super rich and will be gorgeous and versatile. 

Creole Beauty is a rich bronze color. Again, it swatched well. It really reminds me of Bronze actually. 

You might already have a bunch of these colors in your collection already, in which case you can skip this palette. If you are just getting into this color family, then you should definitely check these out. 

 

I thought I was going to get a lot more lip glosses from this collection, but when I saw them in person, I actually ended up not loving a lot of them, mainly because I thought that they were very dupable. 

I did pick up Gold Dust which is a perfect gold shimmery gloss - warm in tone, and awesome to wear alone or over another color. I am imagining this on tropical beaches in the evening - gorgeous sultriness. 

Kumquat is a great rich coral - super bright and fun. 

Hush Hush Rose is an amazingly pretty raspberry gloss with some shimmer.

L-R Gold Dust, Ember, Hush Hush Rose, Pink Burst

Prior to seeing the collection in real life, I was excited about Cha Cha, Electric Fuchsia, Almondine, and Culture Clash. Cha Cha is a milky coral that ended up making me look a little weird and dead. Electric Fuchsia is a great bright color but I was put off by the blue shimmer. However I do think it's a great and exciting color, just not for me. Culture Clash reminded me of a gazillion other similiar milky pink glosses with shimmer that MAC puts out with every collection and I am sick of accidentally buying and finding a gazillion other shades of in my collection. Almondine looks very scary in the tube, but actually sheers out very nicely, but it reminded me of Elle, which came in one of the Holiday 09 collections as a mini, and I really think a mini is enough of this shade that I need. 

One final purchase was Pink Burst Lipstick, which is oh-so aptly named. It is a gorgeous rich bright shock of pink, sheer enough to be wearable but buildable. A gorgeous spring color, or wear it now to brighten up your day!

I really loved this collection - it was bright, fun, dynamic, and exciting. I've used almost everything since purchasing in some way despite the cold weather, and even though the colors are bright, they are wearable and flexible. I know it's a big collection, and in some ways very overwhelming, but it's definitely worth taking a look at, and there is bound to be something for everyone in it.

Holiday Surfing

So, normally I do a Saturday post of great things I've read throughout the week. With all the travel and business recently I've missed doing these posts. Instead of a weekend post, I'm taking advantage of the long weekend to get back into it. So here's some recent happenings in the beauty blogosphere:

• Aqua-Heart did a beautiful mint eye look
• Lipstick and Lollipops experiments with a home made face mask
• Shadowy Lady did the most sophisticated birthday look
• Nouveau Cheap get excited about the new Wet N Wild Palettes
• Shades of U makes a gorgeous neutral eyes look

Did you come across any great posts this week? Or maybe wrote one yourself? Leave a note in the comments! :)

Roman Goddess EOTD Using MAC Devil May Care Palette

I was thinking Roman Goddess when I put together this look, and really wanted to bring out a rich, opulent, luxury feeling. I deliberately didn’t line the upper lid to really bring out the golds and bronzes, as I love how gorgeous they look shimmering together. I also extended the shadow to almost touching my eyebrows to really bring out that imposing, gorgeous feeling. A little bit over the top maybe, but the colors are so beautiful that I felt they deserved it. I used the MAC Devil May Care Palette from Holiday 09, but the colors are not so original that duping isn’t possible.

I haven’t got full face pictures, but I’d recommend a gold or bronzey tinged lip gloss - Liberated from MAC Style Warriors is my first choice, though anything with a hint of gold shimmer will work nicely, as long as the color is kept warm. Again, warm toned blush and a touch of bronzer will really work the glamazon opulence going here.

Base: Paint in Bare Canvas and NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Inner Lid: Antique  Gold
Outer Lid: Bronze
Crease brushed out to wing: Burgundy
Lower Waterline: Urban Decay Zero
Lower Lashline: Bronze shadow
Browbone: Light gold
Mascara: Maybelline XXL Colossal

Looking at the palette, the burgundy color could be duped with MAC A Little Folie, the gold color maybe Gorgeous Gold, the bronze by Bronze. Suggestions welcome for the rest of them.