Makeup / Cosmetics

March 21, 2012

NEON NAIL Mix N Match – “Bikini” pink & “Did I dye it too blonde?” yellow

Sinful Colors in "Bikini" 1101
First I started with a coat of Sinful Color base, then Sinful Colors in “Bikini” which is a BRIGHT pink shade. And to think, at the beginning of February I thought that Zoya’s “Lo” was bright.

I have now reapplied this color when it started to chip. AND it’s stayed on without chipping for a very long time (I’m thinking around 7 days) before chipping. And I’m not gentle to my nails. I love how smooth this polish goes on and the fact that both times I’ve used it, I’ve been smudge and dent free on top and stayed that way.

Then I found this at CVS: Spoiled by Wet N’ Wild in “Did I dye it too blonde?” 🙂 And I was thinking “let’s take this to the next level, it’s only $2, I want to try this neon yellow thing out too.”

Next was several failed attempts at applying this yellow. It’s rather sheer:

The first try I just applied it to my existing color which made for a really nice orange shade but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
Second attempt I used it just on top of a base coat. It lacked “oopmh.” It looked very plain, very boring, still sheer. I could have more color on my nail if I used a highlighting marker.
Third try was the charm. I used a coat of white first and finally got that in your face shade I was seeing in the bottle.

Love it!!

Pictured here with the heart nail file from one of my previous Birchbox’s.

Review of the polishes (not the colors) below:

I will say I’m not amazed by this particular brand nail polish, Spoiled, just because it IS so sheer and it does stay as clean and smooth looking as the Sinful Colors. I’m not sure if this is the entire brand or the color itself. I would give both a second chance. I do think I might invest in a better neon yellow though if my second attempt doesn’t go so well with this yellow.

I am in love with the Sinful Colors “Bikini” pink though because it goes on and stays on so well. I do think the quality there is almost on par with $7-10 nail polishes (did I mention Sinful Colors is a $2 nail polish as well?)

It IS a cheap way to give neon a try.

Affiliate link below (the opinions above are my own, I only sought out the affiliate link because I like the product so much!)

March 11, 2012

March 2012 Birchbox – Teen Vogue :: essie Luxeffects in “a cut above”, twistband Hair tie, tarte Lipsurgence lip tint in “amused”, Shiseido Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Papers, Annick Goutal Petite Chérie perfume,

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Subscription boxes

In the box:

Shiseido – Pureness Oil-Control Blotting Papers. I didn’t notice the perfume in the ingredients list for the Shiseido blotting paper which changes my mind on it. A blotting paper should be simple. May also contain parabens (the ingredient list on the package doesn’t match the ingredient list on Birchbox’s site.)
Annick Goutal – Petite Chérie perfume. You all know how I feel about perfume by now right? Synthetic is a no go. And my allergies make it hard to find even natural perfumes that work.
essie – Luxeffects in “a cut above” pink glittery top coat. Nice!
twistband – Hair tie in neon yellow. Yup.
tarte – Lipsurgence lip tint in “amused” a hot pink gloss stick. See video.
Modcloth promo code: take $10 off any $75+ order with code MODPROM vald 3/1 – 4/15 2012

I’m actually really happy with the contents of this box. What I got was a little more along the lines of things I will use (with the exception of the perfume.)

I do think it’s funny that both times that they’ve sent me nail polish, it has been super similar to something I already own. I will at some point do a side by side comparison of both the teals and both of the glittery pinks.

And sorry if I sound a little congested in this video. Also note – changed my mind on the blotting papers. See above.

via YouTube

Birchbox is only $10/month so sign up here!: http://www.birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7

March 10, 2012

China Glaze Capitol Colors line for the Hunger Games

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

China Glaze has recently come out with a line of nail polish themed for The Hunger Games but their website doesn’t quite do the colors justice.

All Lacquered Up’s blog post has done a really good job of describing, swatching & photographing them.

China Glaze Agro & China Glaze Fast Track are my top picks though there are others that I like and would consider buying (though I’m still not 100% sure about the Agro green, I think I need to see that in person.)

Which one(s) are your favorites?

Also to note there is a giveaway contest for these nail polishes on Lauren Conrad’s site (ends March 12, 2012)

October 2, 2011

Anastasia HydraFull Gloss {review}

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

Full disclosure: The folks over at Anastasia sent me a lipgloss to try and review. I still believe in giving an honest review even if a product was given to me so here goes.

Anastasia of Beverly Hills
HydraFull Lip Gloss
Paraben Free | Hypoallergenic | Dermatologist Tested
http://anastasia.net/
Price: $21.00

The color is a little brighter than pictured here – it’s hard to get a pic with the metallic lettering. “Sorbet” really looks like a raspberry sorbet in the tube.

First the good:

Applied to my hand I thought “how in the world is this ever going to look good on me, my skin doesn’t do pinks well… man this looks bright for me and I’m not going to be able to wear this out of the house.” Lets say I was a little worried.

But on my lips it gave them a nice pop that I thought “ok, maybe not everyday but it looks good.” Enough shine, a little color.

To me it looked a little more pink than in my photo below but not as bright as the photo above. I applied lightly and then rubbed my lips together to even it out which brings me to my next comment. (Photo was taken in the car with true daylight.)

I know that some people like or prefer what I’m going to call the “spackel applicator.” You know, the wand with the little plastic tip instead of the fuzzy one. I personally prefer the fuzzy tip applicators and hate trying to use the spackel type. I’m not holding the applicator against it though especially after what I did next.

I decided to experiment… yup I took it apart.

A trip to Sally Beauty and I had spent about $4 on some wands with the fuzzy tips. First try I tried to twist one out but that didn’t work because they’re glued in so I tried cracking the acrylic with a pair of pliers. That worked. The spackel tip in the Anastasia gloss pulled with a little tug and I popped in the new fuzzy tip.

So lets talk about how this lipgloss wears. If you’ve ever worn Mac’s Lipglass or Zuzu Luxe / Gabriel Cosmetics lipgloss I would say the Anastasia Hydragloss feels about the same as these and wears about the same amount of time. This means compared to drugstore brands it’s that little bit extra sticky and stays on a bit longer. It’s still a lipgloss though and doesn’t stay around forever so you’re going to want to throw it in your purse and reapply a couple of times during the day. Also like the Zuzu Luxe it has a nice moisturizing affect.

Now for the bad:

I had high hopes when I looked over the ingredient list because at a glance it looked pretty good. But I popped the list into the Cosmetics Database to get a better idea (it wasn’t a product they already had listed.) Lower is healthier.

Anastasia HydraGloss is a 5 [link to screencapture]
Zuzu Luxe lipgloss is a 2 [link to screencapture]
Mac LipGlass is somewhere between a 2 and a 6… maybe. (They don’t post their ingredients online and the old formulas for Mac LipGlass, nothing newer than 2007, could be a 2 or it could be a 6.) [link to screencapture]

Retail Price:

Anastasia HydraGloss $21
Zuzu Luxe lipgloss $18.15
Gabriel Cosmetics lipgloss $16.75
Mac LipGlass $14.50 or $18.50 for pro longwear

Just to be fair I’m going to break it down to price per fluid ounce here.

Anastasia Hydragloss: 0.07 oz = $300/oz**
Mac LipGlass: 0.17oz = $85.29/oz
Zuzu Luxe lipgloss: 0.25 oz = $72.60/oz
Gabriel Cosmetics lipgloss: 0.35 oz = $47.86/oz

** I know that some of the difference is the thickness of the walls on the tube for Anastasia but if you look at them side by side I can’t see how Anastasia would have less than the Mac LipGlass or Zuzu Luxe. IF Anastasia’s Hydragloss is .17oz like the Mac Lipglass then it’s $123.51/oz which still makes it the most expensive of the bunch but it’s a LOT closer to what I expected.

BOTTOM LINE:
Would I buy it? Probably not because there are healthier options. Even if Anastasia’s lipgloss were cheaper I would still pick Zuzu Luxe and Gabriel Cosmetics lipgloss because healthier is MY priority. I no longer buy Mac Lipglass either.

Is it a high quality lipgloss? Yes, I do think it’s good and I do think that it’s a bit better than the Mac Lipglass because it’s more moisturizing than the Mac.

June 26, 2011

Question: talc-free alternative to Guerlain Météorites Powder For The Face ?

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

Does anyone know of a healthier alternative (without talc) to Guerlain Météorites Powder For The Face? I really want to try something similar to this. Multi-color, illuminating, flaw correcting colors… ideas? Leave them in the comments below!

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P266308&om_mmc=cse-Shopzilla&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=21-126819332-2#moreInfo

June 12, 2011

Everyday Minerals “Natural Reflections Summer Bronze” Bronzer

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

http://www.everydayminerals.com/store/face-natural-reflections-summer-bronze.html

I got this to compare to Everyday Minerals “Raw Sugar” since they don’t carry that anymore and it’s my staple bronzer. Often bronzers will look either too pink or too yellow or too muddy on me (no matter how light I try and apply them.) The Summer Bronze is “ok” … I’m not amazed and in love but it’s better than nothing and it does NOT look too yellow or too pink.

In fact it will probably work pretty well for the summer because it has a hint of pink to it and I’m spending more time outside so I may need a little more contrast.I took a lot of photos so you can see it in different lights as well as compared to the Everyday Minerals medium beige foundation (in pics above.)

“Natural Reflections Summer Bronze” on LEFT and “Raw Sugar” on the RIGHT side of my hand. Pics inside and in direct light. The Summer Bronze does not have any shimmer which some people will probably like.

Everyday Minerals is becoming this horrible love hate relationship for me, I find something I love so much it becomes an staple item I use daily and bam, they stop carrying it. First the pressed powder, then the bronzer.

Right now this bronzer is only $4.50 for the full size so I expect this to go out of stock like anything else I like.

And a quick note on the foundation, I previously posted EM’s response about no longer having the pressed powder (though they “say” they’re planning on bringing it back, I just don’t think that’s likely anymore.) I bought both matte and semi-matte powders to try. I can’t use either individually, I really do have to mix them to get the right coverage and color for me which is really frustrating.

EM used to sell mixing containers … I need that because I don’t have any empty sifters and it’s a pain to open two different screw top containers each morning for one simple task. I really like their close-able sifter covers.

Anyone have any spare empty EM containers they want to ship to me? Otherwise I guess I could dump them both out into a bowl in the kitchen and then refill the existing containers … I guess that’s what I’ll actually end up doing.