LORAC's Time To Shine Eye Shadow Palette

Lorac's Time to Shine Eye Shadow Palette and Multiplex 3D Mascara

So, I'm very much a Lorac fan and think they make some of the best quality eye shadows that I've tried until now.  I really thought that the Time to Shine Palette and the Multiplex 3D Lashes Mascara (travel size) was a steal for $28!!!  Now you gotta remember, I have had nothing but great luck with their shadows so I was pumped about this palette.

There were several things that drew me to this palette:  1) it was a Lorac product, 2) it was light weight (so many palettes are so heavy) and I travel a lot so this is always a plus, 3) it has a fairly nice mirror (another plus for the traveller), 4) it contained 10 fabulous colors, from pastels to darker shades, 5) I got a bonus mini mascara! 

Now I obviously didn't purchase this palette for the mascara, but I gotta tell you....its really good!!!

The mascara is a black multiplex 3D lash mini mascara, has a nice curved brush and it definitely lengthens the lashes and separates them quite well.  I did notice a little desire to clump, but the mascara consistency is thin enough that if it tries to clump, you can easily blot the eye lash and the clump melts.  What I noticed most was how quickly my lashes lengthened and it took very little mascara.  I was impressed with the mascara!

Now onto the palette...I didn't get to swatch it in the store as they were all boxed up and I seldom ever purchase items without being able to play with them at the store first :)  But, again, this was a Lorac product and I have had nothing but good luck with Lorac eyeshadows so I thought it was a safe bet.  Well, had I been able to swatch the shadows in the store before purchasing the palette, I probably would not have bought it.  Why?  The pigmentation just isn't what it should be.  With this being said....when applying the shades, what I found was they actually went on very pretty...light, shimmery, but not real pigmented. BUT they have very nice shimmer and almost created a kinda "shadow gloss" on the eye (yes "shadow gloss" is "my" new made up terminology) :)  This is just the best way I can describe it.

Not being totally sold on this shadow, I decided to try it wet and SHAZAM!!! That was the key!  When applied with a wet brush the pigment is drawn out and the colors go on much more pigmented but still give that shimmery glow.  At last, Lorac hadn't totally disappointed me.

Would I buy this again?  Probably not, BUT now that I learned the "wet brush trick" and considering the price for 10 eye shadows and a mini sized mascara....ummm....maybe I would.  This would really depend on my budget.  If price wasn't really a major constraint, I'd say no, if it was, I'd still consider it because you really do get a lot of product for your money.

Product Details:  

Price:  $28 U.S.

Shadow Palette:  10 Shimmery Shadows

Net wt:  .316/8.94g

Mini 3D Multiplex 3D Lashes Mascara (Black)

Net Wt.:  .17oz/5g

Nail of the Day - Zoya Caitlin

I finally received my Zoya Spring Collection from the International Women's Day Promotion Zoya ran a few weeks ago! I decided a nail of the day with each of my new colors from the collection would be pretty fun! I started with Zoya Caitlin a deep purple gray cream. This lacquer is absolutely stunning and one of my favorite of the entire collection - although I have to admit I love all the colors very much (guess I'm a little bias.) My only issue with this lacquer which you will notice immediately in the photos has to do with my top coat. As you can see, some of the nails in the photos have black dots sprawled across the nails - this is not part of the Caitlin polish but an issue I was having with my top coat. I am thinking I painted my top coat too quickly over Rescue Beauty Lounge's Iconoclast before it was dry and accidentally infected my top coat with nasty black chunks of dried paint. Awesome. :( Needless to say, Caitlin does not have black chunks - it is a deep purple gray cream and lovely even without a top coat.  (I have since cleaned my top coat brush and removed the remaining bits of Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast - sorry for the inconvenience.)

I applied two coats of Zoya Caitlin, over Seche Base base coat and then I applied Seche Vite (infected with Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast) as a top coat. Enjoy!

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats with Flash

Zoya Caitlin Two Coats NO Flash

Chanel's Blush Duo Tweed Effect - LOVING IT!!!

Chanel's Blush Duo Tweed Effect - It simply makes me feel GORGEOUS!!!

I gotta admit, I didn't go into the store looking to purchase Chanel's Blush Duo Effect in Tweed Rose 30, BUT when the employee working there applied it on my face, I said, "I GOTTA GET IT!!!"  :)

AND...now you know why I always "pretend" that I got it all under control and I know "exactly" what I'm doing while at the Chanel make up counter...they up sell me every time Who can pass up their gorgeous shades, silky textures and oh the sleek, shiny, black packaging. I feel rich just holding the compact!!!  :)

BUT it's all good because I'm really enjoying it...

The blush has a rose with peach tweed weave and soft shimmer...it's absolutely a beautiful shade!  Its a very light powder that goes on with a slight shimmer.  The nice thing about the blush is that you can build up the color so you can go as light as you want and yet add more to deepen the shade.  The blush gives me a peachy/pink tone; a little more pink than peach.  I really like the shade, especially for spring/summer.  It makes eager for spring/summer!!!

Product Shades:  

• Tweed Coral 20
• Tweed Pink 10
• Tweed Rose 30
• Tweed Sienna

Product Details:

Net Wt.:  .19oz, Poids Net 5.5g

Price:  $45.00

Blush Compact Includes Mirror and Brush
Tweed Rose 30

Tweed Rose 30

Brush Enclosed in Packaging

Impromptu Haul/Makeup Tutorial - Pop of Color Makeup

This is an impromptu haul/makeup tutorial. I wanted to show you some new products I recently purchased, but I also wanted to do a tutorial, so I sort of combined the two and did a bit of talking about about the products and showed you how to apply them. Enjoy!

Products Used:
Face:

• Chanel Teint Innocense in Beige 40
• Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Sand with Pale Yellow Powder
• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque
• Laura Mercier Mineral Powder in Real Sand
• Benefit Bella Bamba Blush
• BareMinerals Faux Tan

Eyes:

• Mac Taupe Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe
• Urban Decay Primmer Potion in Eden
• Mac Print Eyeshadow
• Mac Patina Eyeshadow
• Mac Ricepaper Eyeshadow
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eyeshadow in Clinic
• Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Graphite Shimmer Ink #15
• Dior Diorshow Blackout Mascara
• Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

Lips:

• Dior Addict Rose Shocking #972

Trend Alert - Bright Yellow Nail Polish/Nail of the Day - Zoya Bekka

If you've ever had the desire to wear the color of a highlighter on your finger, now's your chance. This summer's nail lacquer range is anything but traditional. Everyone from Lady Gaga (Deborah Lippman's Yellow Brick Road) to Chanel (Chanel's Mimosa Nail Lacquer) is pushing yellow nails this season. I decided to pick up the non-traditional shade while shopping online at Zoya. I decided to go for the almost-neon bright highlighter grade Zoya Bekka. This polish is sheer and required three coats to get the same opacity as seen in the photos below. I really like this shade because it's not a flat yellow, but has a nice shimmer throughout the neon-yellow lacquer which makes the polish less punk and more chic, in my opinion. I applied Seche Base as a basecoat, three coats of Zoya Bekka, and one coat of Seche Vite as a topcoat. Enjoy!

Zoya Bekka - Three Coats with Flash

Zoya Bekka - Three Coats with Flash

Zoya Bekka - Three Coats NO Flash

A Saturday Night Face of the Day

Last night I went out with my friend shopping and for dinner. I decided to do my makeup really dramatic and fun. I try to embrace the times when I can really play up my makeup. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to film a tutorial, but I wanted to still share my creation. I added the hat last minute to my look because I thought it just kept the entire look playful. The fingernail polish was done a little haphazard last minute, so I thought it was kind of funny that some of my nails were painted with Zoya's Bekka and others were painted with Rescue Beauty Lounge's Iconoclast. I decided to take a photo before I'd completed the "clean up" stage of my manicure - as you can see. haha. Enjoy!

Products Used:
Face:

• Chanel Teint Innocence in Beige 40
• Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Sand with Pale Yellow Powder
• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque
• Chanel Espiégle Blush #65
• Nars Albatross Highlight
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
• Mac Technakohl Eyeliner in Plum (eyelid as base for Sketch)
• Mac Sketch Eyeshadow (eyelid)
• Mac Black Tied Eyeshadow (outer V)
• Mac Odalisque Eyeshadow (lower lashline)
• Mac Motorhead Eyeshadow (lower lashline)
• Mac Brulé Eyeshadow (highlight on brow bone)
• Mac Ricepaper Eyeshadow (highlight inner corner of eye)
• Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Brunette
• Clinique Cream Liner in Black (top liner and bottom liner)
• Make Up For Ever Lash Fibers (top lashes)
• Dior Diorshow Blackout Mascara (top lashes)
• Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara (bottom lashes)

Lips:

• Buxom Gloss in Dolly

Chanel Summer 2011 Collection Preview - Les Fleurs d'Été de Chanel - Available in April 2011 for U.S.

Chanel's new Summer 2011 Collection entitled Les Fleurs d'Été de Chanel (Chanel's Flowers of Summer) has a few items that have really sparked my interest. I have already pre-ordered the Chanel Mimosa nail polish and the Chanel Bronze Corail Bronzer. Maybe once the collection hits a counter near me I will make a few more purchases. Do any of these items spark your interest?

Release in U.S. set for April 2011.

Bronzer - Soleil Tan de Chanel

• Bronze Corail Deep Beige with Coral Highlight
• Bronze Rose Natural Beige with Rose Highlight

Lip Gloss - Glossimer

• Aurore Light Orange with Pink Shimmer
• Pink Peony Pink
• Pensee Pink Coral with Gold Shimmer

Eyeshadow Quad

• Lilim Quad Deep Green, Light Green, Gray, Beig

Nail Lacquer

• Mimosa Bright Lemon Yellow with Microshimmer
• Beige Petale Beige Rose
• Morning Rose Rose

Eye Liner - Stylo Yeux Waterproof Liner

• Rose Platine Silvery Rose

 Source: BellaSugar

Nail of the Day - Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast

I will admit when I painted my nails with this color last night I wasn't too impressed with the actual color. I have received several questions about my "nail routine" and whether I paint my nails every day. The answer to that question is - I paint my nails every day. I try to wear each polish for the entirety of one full day to see how it wears, chips, etc. I have not noticed any one brand to be more or less prone to chipping after just one day of wear thus far. Some lacquers I wear for multiple days, I just don't photograph them. For example, I paint my nails on the weekends and use those photos for my Monday and Tuesday posts, thus allowing me the possibility of a "break" from painting my nails for two days a week.

Anyway, I painted my nails with Rescue Beauty Lounge's Iconoclast last night and I will admit, I did it while catching up on some episodes of Shamelss on Showtime (I pretty much love that show.) When I finished painting my nails I didn't think much of Iconoclast but this morning when I went to upload the photos I took last night I realize just how beautiful this lacquer is in the light. Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast is a deep black with mutli-colored microshimmer. It's a very unique color and absolutely gorgeous in the sunlight. I will admit, if you spend your time in doors while wearing this polish you won't think it's anything special because it looks like a classic black cream nail polish in normal lighting. However, take a second look in the sunlight and you'll see the gorgeous shimmer and see why it's so unique and amazing on the nails. Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast was easy to apply, covered with one coat (but I applied two, just to be safe) and is part of Rescue Beauty Lounge's Spring 2011 collection. I applied Seche Base as a basecoat, two coats of Iconoclast and Seche Vite as a top coat. So lovely! Enjoy!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast - Two Coats with Flash

Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast - Two Coats with Flash

Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast - Two Coats NO Flash

Zoya's Buy One, Get One Offer!

Zoya is running a promotion until 3/25/11 (Friday) which allows it's account holders to partake in a "buy one, get one" offer on their new Summer nail polish collections. There are three collections total: Zoya's ModMattes Collection (bright neon matte shades), Zoya's Summertime Collection (bright creams), and Zoya's Sunshine Collection (bright glitter/shimmer polishes). The offer allows for you to purchase up to seven nail polishes and get one free, thus fourteen polishes total from the collections. Standard shipping will be reduced to $2.00 and is free for orders over $55.00. For official rules and information on how to partake in this awesome deal, please visit Zoya's Blog. Enjoy!

Nail of the Day - Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant

I purchased two lacquers from the new Rescue Beauty Lounge Spring collection - Insouciant and Iconoclast. I decided to paint my nails first with Insouciant because I thought it was such a lovely deep purple/lilac with a hint of gray. I have to say, I am very impressed with Rescue Beauty Lounge's formula and I think I now understand that high price tag of $18.00. Unfortunately, I ran out of Seche Vite for my top coat and had to paint this polish without a top coat. I thought this would be disastrous, however it wasn't it at all. Rescue Beauty Lounge's lacquers dry quickly and with a very pretty shine. I was very impressed by the consistency and application as well. I found Rescue Beauty Lounge's Insouciant to be nearly opaque with just one coat. However, I decided to paint two coats just to be safe. As you can see, this color is extremely unique. It's a deep purple/lilac with a hint of gray and a soft super fine shimmer throughout the lacquer. It's hard to tell in the photos, but this polish's shimmer is just gorgeous on the nails and really makes the nails stand out. I'd call this color the ultimate "chic girl" polish because of it's gray undertones, but deep purple/lilac base and light shimmer. I also applied Seche Base as a base coat to this lacquer. Enjoy!
 

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant - Two Coats with Flash

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant - Two Coats with Flash

Mac Indigo Pink Lips with a Smokey Gray-Brown Eye

I have been dying to use my Mac Indigo Pink Lip Glass in a tutorial and I have finally gotten the opportunity. I decided to go for a deep smokey brown-gray eye. I wanted my eyes to be smokey, but wearable, so I kept the eyeliner simple and less harsh. I also wanted the lips to really shine and be the focal point of this look. I hope I achieved my goal! Enjoy!

Products Used:
Face:

• Benefit That Gal Primer
• Nars Sheer Glow in Punjab
• Mac Mineralize Blush in Gentle
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer
• Bobbi Brown Cream Concealer in Sand with Pale Yellow Powder
• Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque

Eyes:

• Mac Impeccable Brown Pencil in Taupe
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel
• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
• Mac Soba Eyeshadow
• Mac Charcoal Brown Eyeshadow
• Mac Stove Pipe Black Eyeshadow
• Mac Show Stopper Eyeshadow
• Mac Ricepaper Eyesahdow
• Clinique Cream Liner in Deep Brown
• Make Up For Ever Lash Fibers
• Dior Diorshow Blackout Mascara
• Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara

Lips:

• Mac Indigo Pink Lip Glass