003 vain rambling

time for another installment of vain rambling, where i dedicate my rambling of a few beauty products all in one post so i dont have to do many little posts individually for each product.

i have been loving fishtail braids lately. they are easy to do and they make you look effortlessy ready. i also have been trying to wear more bold colors on my lips. which is REALLY new for me, because 1. i rarely wear lipstick on a regular basis and 2. when i do they are nude/natural colors. my colors of choice have been mac vegas volt (which i wore HERE, if you want to see it on me) and revlon colorburst plum (what im wearin in the pic above)

i picked up revlon's carbonite at my cvs, which everyone in the beauty world probably has heard about and seen already im sure. if you havent heard of the shade, it is supposed to be a dupe for chanel graphite (which i dont own) but i have seen the comparison and i think they arent dupes at all. chanel is prettier (in my opinion anyway) but the revlon one is nice too. i personally love gunmetal shades so i love this color.

just a nice dirty gunmetal shade. i would say it is a frost finish.

i went to tjmaxx in search of theBalm products all because of Danielle and Ebru and their spectacularly good finds. they found much more products than me (so go check them out.) my tjmaxx had a decent selection of products, but i would say about 98% were tainted or shattered/destroyed :( which really is a shame because i would have bought more if they were in better condition...


look at the blush set!! i would have gotten that but there were so many dents/fingerprints on it :(

i was, however, able to pick up this (untouched!) duo pack:

mary lou-manizer highlighter and betty lou-manizer bronzer
this retails for $48 as you can see on the packaging, i picked up up for $20.

the packaging is retro and clever. i know a lot of people absolutely adore the packaging. i am indifferent. i dont hate it but i dont love it. like i said, i think it is clever but i usually love sleeker/plainer designs. the compact is very sturdy and it comes with a mirror.

betty lou-manizer
betty is a warm bronze with a golden sheen. if you only like matte bronzers, you wont like this. i havent used it too much yet, but i dont think it is overly shimmery. i think it has a nice balance of sheen and color to it. it is also extremely pigmented and smooth. i was actually realy worried about this product, i thought it was going to be similar to illamasqua burnish bronzer (which i did not enjoy and swapped years ago, WAY too shiny) but from what i remember of burnish, i find it isnt anything like it.

mary lou-manizer
mary is a pretty yellow-gold champagne highlighter. it is absolutely beautiful. like betty, it is incredibly soft and pigmented. i have used this everyday since i bought it and i am so glad i picked it up. i really dont need that much of this to give myself a soft glow.

swatches:
betty lou-manizer on left, mary lou-manizer on right.

comparisons:
from left to right, nars laguna, betty, mary, nars albatross, dior amber diamond (all shades mixed together)

laguna doesnt have as much of a sheen as betty. also laguna seems to be a dirtier/browner shade.

albatross has more of a white/yellow gold sheen going on while mary is more of a champagne and warm gold sheen. amber diamond really isnt even close to mary since it is more of a amber/bronzey sheen.

have you had any luck finding theBalm in your area? share what you have found in the comments. if you say shady lady palettes i will be extremely envious since i have wanted those palettes for the longest time and look out for them like a hawk...

002 what im eating

rice, broiled chicken wings w/hot pepper

revlon expressionist polish pick-me up

i have been hearing about as well as seeing promo pics of revlon's newest "expressionist" collection. the only products that really piqued my interest were the nail polishes...especially the jewel toned polish 'facets of fuchsia'. after hearing that the collection was seen at many targets, today i set out on a search for these gems. great success:

starry pink, facets of fuchsia, blue mosaic

blue mosaic, facets of fuchsia, starry pink.

i did two coats each for all of the colors and i think i should have done a third with blue mosaic since the base color seems to be clear. i am not too fond of starry pink, it is a bit too milky for my taste and it covers up the glitter. as for facets of fuchsia...

indoor lighting


outdoor lighting


this color was really hard to capture, but it has a blackened base with two different pieces of fuchsia glitter (small round, big hexagonal) speckled throughout it. the glitter wasnt hard to make show up, i just brushed like normal and the pieces aligned themselves.

i really enjoy this color. it is definitely a unique attribute to my collection. i have been hearing this shade is a pretty good dupe for deborah lippman's bad romance (i dont own this, so i cant compare!)

i picked these up at my local target (they were just in the revlon permanent nail polish section) for a little less than $4. target has a coupon right now for $1 off revlon cosmetics, so take advantage of it if you want to try these polishes out! there was also a creamy beige-grey color called smokey canvas, but i didnt pick it up because it looked similar to some essie colors i have already.

what do you guys think? do you like the looks of these polishes or are you going to pass?

002 my world according to my phone

i hand-washed my thrift finds the other day and air dried them on a laundry line. how old fashioned eh?


i have been OBSESSED with my short taupe steve madden boots. they go with everything (seriously, i havent worn another pair of shoes all month) i wear from shorts to skinnies.


i have been loving red nail varnish and my f21 knuckle ring. i love the design on the ring and the color. my polish is essie lollipop (excellent formula)


i found this ralph lauren cream shoulder button up at a new thrift store i found and i think it looks SO funny on. i had to share it with you guys. i feel like it is a pajama top! too bad, i think they details are really neat but are just executed wrong. perhaps if the shape of the overall shirt was different it would be better. needless to say i didnt get this.


i have been wearing stila's gloss in apricot like crazy. mostly just to use it up (it was a mini version) but i really love the color. too bad the formula is AWFUL. it is so incredibly sticky. i would never get the full version. i dont recommend it, especially if you hate stickiness.


i am wearing the gloss here as well. i also have been loving not wearing any liner on my top lid. ive just been smudging darker shadows in the outer corners to make my lashes seem fuller. saves time and the results are a really natural pretty eye.

what have you all been up to? i hope you had a great labor day wkd.

006 items im lusting after

since my lap top is currently being repaired, i am not able to upload any pictures from my sister's desktop AND i cant access pictures i already had on my laptop for posts. my fingers have been itchin for blogging these past few days so i thought it was time for another IILA episode! hmm i think the more i do these the more expensive the things i lust after are...

HOUSE OF HARLOW BLACK LEATHER CHEVRON NECKLACE(img source)

i love this necklace. i love the shape & black and gold contrast. i have heard from Alex that the quality isnt the best :( but i still want this though, i just love the design of it too much.

CHANEL 5018 SUNGLASSES

i think these are the neatest sunglasses ever. too bad they were made in limited quantities and are impossible to get now. there are a lot of fakes out there, which i dont support, so it looks like i can only dream about these babies.

CHINESE LAUNDRY GET AWAY WEDGES(img source)

i am normally not a fan of wedges but i think these are SO perfect. they look better on so take yourself on over to sincerely jules to see them on her (and to check out her blog, i love her style/hair)

ISABEL MARANT DICKER BOOTS(img source)

love these. i am really into short booties lately and i think these are so perfect. i love the style, the length, and the color. google pictures of kate bosworth wearing these. usually i dont care too much for her style, but i am loving these boots on her.

FRYE VERONICA SLOUCH BOOTS(img source)

i have talked about this before, but i am still in love. i want this in the distressed black AND the brown. i repeat...still in love.

that is all for this edition. since fall is coming up i have been really more into clothes/fashion rather than makeup. no worries though, i am still a lover of makeup at heart. maybe i will get inspired by makeup when more fall collections come out.

what have you been lusting after?