Bundle Monster Holiday Collection (Link)

Bundle Monster just released photos of all the images in their new holiday set! It's supposed to be for sale in June so hopefully very soon!

Source: http://www.bundlemonster.com/ilovebundlemonster

All of them look awesome, it's impossible to have a fave!

Bourjois Volume Glamour Mascara

This is another mascara I recently bought.

The brush is very basic. 

Results: 

I wasn't impressed with it.  It is a very dry formula, but I did like that it wasn't heavy and lifted my lashes a bit.  It wasn't flaky or smudgy; it just didn't do enough for me to justify purchasing it again.  

Giveaway Winner Announced

Hi, just to let everyone know the winner is Faria, congratulations! I've sent an email, and thanks to everyone who entered!


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New Product: Overcurl

Another new mascara ....

Dior mascaras go for 30€ .... I never thought that was reasonable.

MAC Eyeshadows: Banafsaji, Farasha

I am so happy I got these!

Swatches:

I also swatched "Gameela" (the pink one) in the store but it didn't seem as pretty as I thought it would be, and like it would be too hard to work with, so I passed on it. 

I wish I had Maybelline's Fierce & Tangy to put under Farasha, I think it would be amazing that way!  Unfortunately it never came here. Anybody know of a comparable alternative?

It must have been a really slow day in the MAC store, I was the only one in there and the lady was really trying to sell me on a Chromographic pencil (Hi-Def, I believe).... and Banafsaji did look great over it, but I knew I had a turquoise pencil I hardly ever use.

I'm planning on doing a look with Banafsaji maybe tomorrow, but I've swatched it over turquoise- Prestige's Lively Turquoise and black- Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Timeless Black.  They both look great to me.

And this is the look I did with Farasha.... it really is prettier on than in the swatch.  I used it over Chilled on Ice paint pot and dug out my old Sleek Good Girl palette for the pinks.

Adieu, Polishes...

These are the ones I had to get rid of.  The Essence and Bourjois, only because their shapes make them difficult to store.  I decided to keep the teal one at the last minute, it's so perfect for mermaid and sea themed nails.

And stay tuned...... I was able to get some new MAC shadows so I'll post swatches as soon as I can!

How Did I Miss This???

Sometimes I am just not paying attention! I usually at least skim over the new MAC press releases but today was the first time I saw this, in the MAC window.... I just walked on, thinking nothing interesting. But then I saw it online and there are some eyeshadows I really want!! They're Farasha, Gameela, and Banafsajie From the Art of the Eye collection. It's probably a lost cause now since two are sold out on the US site, but I'm on my way to see if I can get them!

New Bourjois Nail Polish Purchase

Yes, I just bought one.  I am the proud owner of only 65 bottles of nail polish now, not including boxed ones that are probably "hard to find".  I'll be getting rid of at least half of those 65, so I felt I could justify just one more bottle.

It's called adora-blue. Its a beautiful blue and I got complete coverage with only one coat. I really love all the Bourjois polishes I have, they are so pretty!

Garnier BB Cream for Combination Skin

Although I don't have oily skin, I wanted to try this to see how it fared especially around my T-zone, where I tend to have (albeit rare) minor issues. If you have dry skin and still want to try this, I'd suggest prepping with a light moisturizer first. It wasn't drying to me but I suspect it might be with daily use.

The texture is really runny.  Left is this, right is Missha: 

The runniness meant I had to apply it quicker, but it also made it very easy to blend out.  At first I thought it was going to be too dark (again!) but it blended to my skin tone, although I did have to blend more than other creams I've used (but less than any foundation!) 

Here is the before and after: 

I actually really like it, it gives a nice finish and it seems to really even out my skin tone. It isnt matte or flat, it just looks natural to me. I really like the coverage, all those reddish areas are reduced but it is so absorbent I can't even feel it on. It has a much better coverage than the original one I tried. I thought I would dislike the liquid-ness of it, but its actually good, I love how it blends like a foundation without the heaviness. This product is quite a pleasant surprise!

Rimmel "Extra Wow" Lash Mascara

I know I am not doing any high end products for a while now, but I just havent been motivated by anything. I really like trying bb creams and mascaras and those are everywhere. Sometimes when I'm at a big store I see high end brands but if there's not something I already wanted to buy, I never even stop. Plus, I always have it in the back of my mind that I'm leaving, and there's nothing I don't already have that I want to take with me, although I've been tempted by a few Barry M and Bourjois polishes....

Enough with the rambling already! Here is the mascara:

I think this is the first mascara I've tried that says it's "lash building".  It says you can go for soft or dramatic looks by increasing the layers.  I think that's something that we all know and have tried, but at least this way they're covered if you think one layer is not enough.  Which it isn't, but more on that in a minute.

The brush- it's pretty much average.

Here is my before and after: 

That was two layers.  Here is my other eye, which is three.  

I've said before that any mascara makes a difference for me, as you can hardly see my natural lashes since they're so light.  I am not "wow'ed" by this one.  It does feel really light on, and I didn't have any flaking or smudging, but I really prefer a thicker look and feel, and this one feels more on the natural side.  One really nice thing I like about it is the brush is excellent for my lower and inner corner lashes, and I might continue to use it for that since most of the other mascara brushes I have are just too big.  Overall, it's not bad, and it didn't say it was volumizing, but this is not one of my faves.  

"Persistent Phantom" Eyeliner

The name of this product is just too strange!  Persistent... phantom???

This is a gel eyeliner from UOUO.  It comes in a box with a little brush.

Swatch: 

I absolutely love this eyeliner.  It's a smooth, almost creamy gel texture, pretty identical to Maybelline's gel liner.  It is really easy to apply, and doesn't take very long to dry down at all.  It sets really well, actually, and it's very black.  I did get 10+ hours out of it, and even then I had to work a bit to remove it.  Another nice product from them.  

Rimmel Scandaleyes Show Off Mascara

I remember wanting to try this for a long time, it seemed like every other thing I read online was about this mascara. Other than that, I don't really have a reason.  Maybe it's because I throw out more mascaras in a month than most people buy in a year. Lol!

First of all, it's a fiber formula mascara but I swear nowhere on my tube does it say this!!

The brush:

The brush is hard plastic, which I loathe.  It's almost painful to have a hard brush, I have to be so careful, and still I can feel the plastic, as opposed to the bristle kind.  I've used the Givenchy one when it first came out, and I didn't like it at first, but I got great results so I got used to it.  

Here are my results with this: 

Hate it.  I do not like this mascara at all.  It's dry, the brush is less than amazing, plus it rubbed off a lot throughout the day.  I definitely would not recommend it.  

Essence Souffle Touch Blush "Cold Wildberry"

This is a mousse type blush, I got in 030, Cold Wildberry.

I never tried any mousse blushes before, although I heard of the Maybelline "Bouncy" blushes but never saw them.  The texture of this is really nice to me, it's like an airy, springy mousse.  I was expecting it to be also really light in colour, so I way overapplied the first time I used it.  That was actually a bad experience because I found that blending, means rubbing, and that makes it "ball up" on my face.  So don't do that!  It's best to pat it on, and leave it to dry.... it's kind of harder than powder blush but the result for me is super natural.  I'm not a big fan of blush, but I actually love this.  

Swatches: 

On face: 

Overall, I'm a fan, and would recommend it if you're like me and prefer just a touch of blush! 

Nail Mail!

My new Cheeky Jumbo plates arrived a few days ago, so exciting!  I haven't tried any of them yet except "Viva Mexico"... I barely had time to open them much less use them.  If you've noticed, I added a "stamping plates" section so I can list my plates.  Sadly I discovered that I have a lot of bad images/bad plates so I really need to be more diligent in checking them when they arrive.

I ordered 1,6, 7, and 8.  I liked all of them, really, but I couldn't justify getting all of them when I already have over 300 plates and can't possibly use them all.  But maybe I'll still get the rest after I move.  I'm getting Bundle Monster's holiday set for sure so we'll see!

I really love that they come with this hard plastic back:

It makes the plates so much easier to use. I like these better than the small round ones, actually, since they're grouped together I dont have to dig out so many plates for a full set of nails. The hard back prevents any slipping too.

Since my photos aren't good, I'll post pictures from Cheeky following mine:

Essence Stays No Matter What: Waterproof Eyepencil

I remember wanting to try this out when I first read about it on the Essence website.  It is a waxy pencil, sharpening type.

I know some people think "black is black", but I'm definitely not one of those people, whether it's makeup, clothes, bags, whatever.... but especially eye products.  So that's the first thing I noticed about this... it's a little off.  But it's really almost indiscernible... unless you're someone like me.

The bottom is Essence, the top is Rimmel Scandaleyes.

I found this pencil to be dry, stiff, and tuggy.  It was all right on my waterline, but I had to go over it several times, and it did "stay all day" but it was easy to rub it off after 7-8 hours. It was not very comfortable to use on my upper lash line.  I didn't leave it for 24 hours (!?!?!) and I definitely prefer the texture of Rimmel.  

Farewell, Friend.... Clarisonic Troubles

Sadly my Clarisonic has stopped working completely!  About a week has passed since I've emailed both the US and UK customer service centers with absolutely no response.  I think it's the charger that's the problem, but no way to tell for sure.  I have something like the Mia coming because that's all I could find with international shipping, but it better get here fast.  I wish I knew what the problem with this one was but hopefully when I get back home I'll be able to do something about it, I seriously hope I don't end up having to toss it.

Has anyone tried the new "Mia 3"?  It seems so similar to this Plus model.  The supplier I'm using has the Mia 2, but honestly I read a lot of reviews before I purchased this one and the Mia sounds just fine, I never noticed the difference of the speeds and I've only rarely used the body brush.

Update: Tuesday morning, I got an email from Clarisonic UK, so fingers crossed they'll be able to help!

Final update: ultimately, their response was.... Sorry it happened, bye. I am really upset and will never purchase one again. It took me three emails to finally get through to an actual person, and then they won't honor your warranty if you are outside of the US. They offered no troubleshooting assistance at all besides repeatedly charging it, which does absolutely nothing. Needless to say if I would have known this in the beginning I would not have purchased it.

Rimmel Apocalips: Nude Eclipse, Midnight Thunder

These are actually my two least favourites of the Apocalips.  The nude doesn't suit me at all, it looks like I put concealer all over my lips and it accentuates lip lines really bad.  Midnight Thunder is a weird choice for this type of product, I know.  I knew before I purchased that it was sheer, so it's definitely more of a gloss than the others and it doesn't last at all.