i wanna cajun berry

yesterday i was driving around and i came across a new nail supply store that had just opened. if you ever see any nail supply stores in your area i HIGHLY recommend you checking it out. they usually have common salon polish brands like opi, essie, china glaze, orly, etc for half price.

this one i visited didnt have a huge selection but it wasnt horrible. they had opi for $4, china glaze for $2.50, a little orly and lots of brands i have never heard of. i ended up picking up only three shades from opi.



koala berry
koala berry is a nice creamy raspberry color. i love this color...i would even go as far to say it is one of my favorite polishes. my sister had this before me and every time i visited her i always used this shade.

comparison
here i have compared all my pinked berried colors. koala berry isnt as dark as essie raspberry but they are in the same color family i would say. pink flamenco has too much of a strong pink base compared to the purpley berry tones of KB. and CG rich & famous isnt even close to KB, being as it is strictly pink.

i wanna be a-lone star
i originally wanted nothing from the recent texas collection, but after i read VIVIANNA's post with her wearing this color, i quickly changed my mind and wanted this shade immediately. i'll admit it, i am easily swayed by my fellow bloggers purchases and raves. sigh.

anyway, IWBALS is a very very light pastel baby blue with a silver sheen. i really have nothing even close to this shade making it a nice item to add to my collection. i like the color but i wish it was a little bit darker. i feel like it has too much white to it. i have been wanting CG sea spray polish, which is supposed to be similar but a little greyer and darker.

comparison
like i said, i really have nothing like this shade in my stash of ever growing polishes so i just picked a very light shade to compare it to. SH lavender cloud is an extremely light lavender. it actually is so light it looks white on me. IRL it really does have a tinge of purple to it; a very small tinge granted, but it is there.

cajun shrimp
cajun shrimp is bright orangey red shade.

comparison
here you can see lollipop isnt as orange, sunset orange isnt as red, and california coral is more muted/not as bright. i think if lollipop and sunset orange had a baby it would be cajun shrimp.

i am happy with all three shades i picked up. my first impression with the formula of all three is good since they applied smoothly and werent streaky. but that is just from me swatching them for pictures, who knows how they perform as a full mani/pedi (well except koala berry, i already know it is good :P)

do any of you have these shades? what are you favorite opi shades? or actually, what are your favorite china glaze shades? there were so many CG polishes at this store i got overwhelmed!

black skirt, magenta belt

today i had to run out to get some errands done and i thought i'd try to post my outfit. it's been pretty hot and humid where im at so i decided to pair my black flirty skirt i got from urban outfitters (UO) a couple years ago w/ my newly acquired magenta stretchy belt from american apparel (AA). this belt was 30% off at the AA i went to, so check out your local AA if you need colorful waist belts, they had various different colors when i checked.


white burn out tank- i got it at UO, the brand is BDG
white cami underneath- aerie
black skirt- BDG
magenta belt- AA
sandals- chinese laundry
flower locket- UO

my leaf headband is from target, i got it in cali. i think it's so awesome but it is so uncomfortable when i wear it all day! it is made out of metal and the prongs that go behind my ears really rub my scalp harshly after time. even though its not the most comfortable headpiece, i still love it. maybe i will try to make soft pads to put on the ends to make it more comfortable...

rings- f21
bracelets- american eagle
nail polish- essie turquoise & caicos

here is a closer look at my polish. i have been looking out for a nice turquoise polish and this is pretty, but not what i was looking for. i am looking for a more blue toned turquoise and this is too green. any recommendations? regardless i am really digging this shade.

the formula is really nice. very creamy and smooth. this is three coats but i could have easily gotten away w/ two.

more details on my makeup:



face:
mixture of revlon photoready & neutrogena healthy skin foundation
mac MSFN med dark
bonnebell shimmer bronzer in gold n glitz
benefit hoola bronzer
nars deep throat
dior amber diamond

eyes:
nyx chrome e/s in mocha as base
mac museum bronze pigment
mac brun in crease
milani liquidfeyed liner in black
mac feline liner on water line
CG lashblast mascara

lips:
foundation as base
revlon peach petal gloss

i hope all of your weeks have started off smoothly!

my first cco trip!

hello everyone! i am sorry i have been MIA for the past two weeks. i had a little vacation in california and while i was there i got to eat lots of great food and finally had the opportunity to visit a cco. the one i went to was in an outlet mall in san diego. it was a small little shop that offered mac, estee lauder, bobbi brown and lots of fragrances. i have heard ccos are usually hit or miss, and lucky for me it was a hit. i was able to snag a couple mac products i have been eying for a while as well as an on the whim buy.

cream color base in madly magenta
this is something i have been wanting ever since i watched nur's video on her purple blush crush and she mentioned the product. the color is so gorgeous. i would describe it as a bright pink based purple with no shimmers or glitter. it may seem so bright and outrageous in the pan, but really if you wore it right it is extremely flattering. this can also be worn on the lips, which i havent tried out yet.

it's extremely pigmented and can be worn really heavily if you wanted to be dramatic or worn really sheered out for a beautiful touch of color. i wore this a lot while i was in cali after i got it. this isnt available online atm, but you can sometimes find them at your mac counter and they repromote this shade frequently.

after getting this ccb, it makes me want to get virgin isle ccb. next time i see it i will definitely purchase it.

mac e/s in sweet & punchy
this e/s came out with the to the beach collection last summer. the only thing i picked up from the collection was hipness blush but i really regretted not picking up this unique shade. i started scouring blog sales and ebay for this e/s but i put it off hoping it would be repromoted. luckily for me this was at this cco! and for cheaper than retail too, i got it for about $10.

sweet & punchy is a very very yellow based chartreuse. i imagine myself pairing this with grey shadows to make it more wearable. i cant wait to play with the color.

ccb in madly magenta on left, sweet & punchy e/s on right

mac nail varnish in imperial flower
this was my on the whim buy. this polish came out last year with the fabulous felines collection. at the time i wasnt interested in this shade because i was distracted by the jade dragon polish which i bought. but once i saw this at the cco, it reminded me a lot of dior's aloha polish plus i have been looking for a pretty orange polish to pick up.

i really like this shade. i would say it is a reddish orange with gold flakes. its very summer appropriate and it definitely satiates my lust for dior's aloha. i think i like this more than aloha since it has the very subtle gold shimmers.

i would say this shade would look best on medium to dark skin tones. i know i will be rocking this a lot, especially with a tan!

that is all i picked up. i want to try to make a trip to another cco just to see what else there is to offer.

do you guys have any of these products? how would you wear sweet & punchy? it is such a funky color i'd like to hear what you would pair it with...

my forgotten fabulush easter

hello everyone, i am so sorry for my lack of real worthy posts lately. i will be posting more often after this week hopefully since i graduate from college this friday! i still have a long way to go since i want to go to grad school, but for now i will be free after these pesky exams i have tomorrow :)

i do have a little easter and product blurb i forgot to post...just my makeup i had for the day. nothing extraordinary, the only reason i am posting it is because i realized i never posted more details on mac's ccb in "fabulush", which i got a while back.



face:

maybelline dream smooth mousse
mac MSFN in med+
bonnebelle glimmer bronzer
nyc sunny bronzer
mac ccb in fabulush
dior amber diamond highlight

eyes:
vintage selection pp
UD pony palette (snatch, mildew, smog)
lineur intense liquid liner
lashblast mascara

lips:
i applied a little of my foundation on my lips then loreal's jelly balm in plush



mac's fabulush:

ive had this product but it was tucked away in one of my makeup drawers and i forgot about it (whoops!) i just recently started wearing it more often and its really nice. i like it a lot. the color is described on the website as a candied red with gold and i would say that is about right since i see it as a pinkish red laced with gold shimmer. ive heard kim kardashian loves this shade, but what do i know :)

swatched, you can see the gold shimmer in the product. im absolutely smitten with the gold in this, i think that it is what makes this product unique and beautiful.

i prefer to apply this with either my fingers if i am in a hurry, or first with a synthetic foundation brush (i use sonia kashuk) then blended in with a duo fibre brush (i use mac 188). i know a lot of people like using their duo fibre brush right in the pan, but i hate that, it makes the product pick up hairs and it looks so ugly and unclean to me.

i would say this is the redder long distant cousin to nars orgasm but in no way a dupe at all. if you find you didnt like orgasm because of the not so fine shimmer particles and the pinky shade didnt flatter you, try swatching fabulush. its a similar concept in that they are both laced with gold, but fabulush has no big shimmer particles and is a cream product. i personally LOVE orgasm, but i know a lot of people who have complained that orgasm doesnt show up on them, is too glittery, etc...and this product will definitely show up on most skin types with the same gold effect orgasm has.

have you guys tried fabulush?

dim sum fun

♥♥♥spicy squid♥♥♥


eat up.

getting tipsy

this past weekend i had the time to make a little trip to sephora where i picked up a couple things i have been eying. i also got a couple early birthday gifts from my friend Hieu, who i have mentioned before on my blog. he got me the new estee lauder sea star bronzing blush as well as my first mac dazzleglass. thanks hieu! :)

estee lauder sea star bronzing blush
i took this picture after i had used it (which btw was really hard to do because the imprint is so pretty!) so part of the purple/pink overlay is gone. of course like most overlays, they dont last after the first couple swirls. it is more for looks, not for color payoff.

the product has a light tan bronzer background with a pinky coral star fish embedded in it. the colors can be worn alone or swirled together, depending on what look you desire.

swatches (from left to right) swirled together, bronzer, blush
this is a very subtle product overall. the coral star fish has great pigmentation. the bronzer is very light and not overly shimmery. when swirled together you get a subtle bronzed peach.

mac dazzleglass in 'like venus'
like venus is bright pink glitter gloss. it is SO pretty. its actually very dramatic to me, since i tend to get nude glosses with a creamy finish. but i can wait to try this out! its even more sparkly in person.

bare escentuals e/s in nude beach
i have been dying to get this shadow after seeing swatches of it on sandra's blog. i swatched it and fell in love.

tarte amazonian clay blush in tipsy
after hearing all about these new blushes from tarte, i knew i HAD to check these out. i ended up getting tipsy because most of the other colors that caught my eye looked similar to other blushes in my collection, plus the color is gorg!

swatches (from left ot right) mac like venus, BE nude beach, tarte tipsy
this swatch of like venus doesnt do it justice. in person it is much more sparkly and pink. nude beach is a cool taupe with silver shimmers. if you get the chance, SWATCH THIS. it is so beautiful and shimmery in person. tipsy is a very orange based coral, but not so orange that it loses its coral tone.

i havent had the chance to try out tipsy or like venus yet, but i have been using nude beach everyday since i got it and i have been loving it (esp in the inner corners of the eyes).

once i give these a go for a while, i will do more in depth posts of me wearing the products and my true thoughts on them.

have you guys tried any of these products?

milani baked blushes

i am blaming Danielle for this recent purchase of mine...all because i saw her wonderful swatches and rave over these new milani baked blushes, i knew they had to be mine. i purposely sought after these this past weekend, and luckily i was able to find a handful. There are a total of 9 shades, I picked up the only 3 i could find: luminoso, rose d'oro, and dolce pink. I really wanted corallina, but i couldnt find it :( i will have to hunt for it at another store (pathetic). on to the swatches!


luminoso
luminoso is a beautiful light peach. out of the three i got, this is the least sparkly.

dolce pink
dolce pink is a light yellow based pink. this is the least pigmented out of the three i got, but still pretty.

rose d'oro
rose d'oro is my favorite out the three. it is a coral with gold veining. this one is so beautiful, i stare at it every time i use it. it has just the right balance of orange and pink tones to it.

swatches (from left to right) luminoso, dolce pink, rose d'oro


i have worn all three shades so far since i've purchased them and i am very satisfied with their performance. they are pigmented and last all day on me...i wore luminoso from 7am-10pm and i still had color on my cheeks. very impressive for a drugstore blush since the ones i do own only last 4 hours tops on me.

a few things to keep in mind...if you arent a fan of sparkly, i would steer clear from these. they dont make you look like a disco ball, but they certainly arent matte. and due to it being a mineralized type formula, product does tend to fly everywhere when you swirl, so i would suggest to not swirl so vigorously. also, it's more of a personal preference thing, but i cant stand the packaging. its very cheaply made and bulky. i prefer a more sleek packaging for easy storage and travel.

i have tried a few things from milani and i have nothing bad to say so far with their products. they do a very good job with their formulas and they are such a steal. these cost me about $7.50. milani is a hard brand to find in stores, but you can find it in select walgreens, rite aids, and i have had the best luck at cvs. you can also buy milani online at cherryculture.com.

have you tried these out? if you havent you should definitely check them out! i think they are so good for the price...