Flormar "Pretty Lipstick" Cream and Gloss Lipstick P319 Review and Swatches

I received this as a gift from the lovely Sarah, like, a thousand years ago. I have quite the backlog of lippies, but thought I should start with one that I love, to get us off on the right foot. (#spoileralert, I guess?)

back when it was new and pristine

Clinique Cheek Pop Berry Pop Review and Swatches

I really didn't intend to be absent for so long, but...well, time flies when you're having fun (and by "having fun", I mean "working frantically", which fortunately are not mutually exclusive). My union is on the verge of a strike, scheduled for December 2––you can read about it here, here, and here, and if you'd like to support us, you can sign the petition here––which adds further excitement to an already-full schedule. Basically, I love my union, my university has disappointed me (gee, I feel like this has happened before...), and I have no time. But here, some blush!

pristine and beautifully untouched Clinique Berry Pop*

Manhattan Colour Splash Liquid Lip Tint 94R Red Tulip

I love the concept of lip stains, because I am very lazy, and the idea of one-time application and all-day wear is very appealing. Unfortunately, most lip stains work horribly for me, drying out my lips, wearing away unevenly, settling into lip lines, and just generally looking and feeling awful. But still, I hold out hope.

When I was in Berlin for a conference this summer (any other CogSci folks here?), I visited dm drogerie markt, a common German drugstore, several times, and swatched a bunch of products that looked promising (because unlike here, drugstores have testers in Europe––what a concept!). One was the Manhattan Colour Splash Liquid Lip Tint in 94R Red Tulip, which initially swatched extremely orange and I thus disregarded it, until it came time to wipe my hand free of swatches, when the prettiest coral-red stain was revealed. This stain lasted 24+ hours on my hand, and my interest was further piqued. On our last day, the boy and I visited a dm before heading to the airport, and I picked up a number of things that I'd seen earlier and still wanted, including this stain, because I figured I would regret it if I didn't. Plus, it was, like, €3,95, so I didn't really have much to lose...

So orangey!

NYX Cream Blush in Hot Pink Quick Review and Swatches

The boy and I stopped off at the Ulta in Salem to pick up a few presents (and because I can't drive near an Ulta and not stop––the nearest one is more than an hour away, and if I happen to be there, you better believe I'm going in) and I decided I could use a cream blush, based on my positive experience with the Beach Tints. I wanted something different from my other blushes, so I decided on NYX Hot Pink, which is the most unoriginally named blush in the history of ever. At least it's accurate, though!

NYX Hot Pink, after a few uses

Nearly Perfect Lashes: Maybelline Full N Soft Very Black Review and Swatches

There are many things about my appearance that I might change, given the choice (not having to pluck my brows would be great, not to mention some way to fix my skin!), but my lashes are not one of them. They're long, dark, thick, and hardy. They are not, however, particularly curly, but I have my kickass lash curler for that. My goal when using mascara is to lengthen, separate, and darken yet further, since in the course of applying eyeshadow and face powder I inevitably end up with product on my lashes. There's a lot of things I don't want, including (but probably not limited to) crunchy lashes, clumps, sad spindly lashes, smudges, flakes, and jabby mascara wands; my goal is always my lashes but better, natural and believable. My absolute HG mascara is Armani Eyes to Kill, but at $30 a tube, it's not something I can repurchase lightly, so when it finally dried up on me I decided to start hunting for a cheaper alternative. I picked up Maybelline Full N Soft, as I remembered liking it when I used it several years ago, apparently forgetting about the 3 sample tubes of mascara I have waiting for me to try. Ah well, at least I used +Up rewards so it ended up being free...

Zoya Beach and Surf Picks: Wednesday, Carly, and Kimber Review and Swatches

Last month when Zoya had their 3 Beach and Surf polishes for $15 promotion, I went through the painful process of narrowing down my picks to just three, and ended up getting Wednesday, Carly, and Kimber. I can happily report that I was not disappointed by any of them!

Left to right: Carly, Kimber, Wednesday

Le Métier de Beauté Pure Color Eyeshadow in Corinthian Review and Swatches

After having seen review after review extolling the virtues of this shadow, I knew I needed to buy it for myself, so it was one of the few items I picked up in New York. But seriously, how was I supposed to restrain myself in the face of this:

It's TAUPE!

And AWESOME!

Taming the Brows: Prestige Cosmetics Clear Brow Gel and Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set Reviews and Pictures

I have caterpillar brows. They're dark, they're big, and they are unashamedly there. Keeping my brows groomed is a sisyphean task, but plucking (like, every other day, gawd) helps keep them relatively well-behaved. After reading that brows and mascara are the two most important parts of a beauty routine on more than one blog, I figured I should maybe try and do something to further polish my brows. I looked for clear mascara at the drugstore, but had no luck, until one day, during a Prestige sale, I happened upon their clear brow gel, which I of course promptly snatched up. After using it for a couple days, I realized that, big and bold though my brows may be, they could use a little filling in in some places, so I picked up the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set for ~$3 at Fred Meyer, since I figured the two matte shadows included were bound to be workable.

Prestige Cosmetics Clear Brow Gel

Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

Rescue Beauty Lounge Piú Mosso Review and Swatches

RBL is, like Zoya and Nubar and Illamasqua, a niche polish brand that is known for their flawless formula and beautiful colors (and for being "3 free": no DBP, Formaldehyde, or Toluene, and no animal testing!). I have been wanting to try their polishes for a long time, but have been dissuaded by the hefty $18 price tag (plus shipping). Luckily for me, Steph of Imperfectly Painted had a bottle of Piú Mosso for $11 during her polish sale, and I managed to snag it. This was especially fortuitous as the sale started the day I was dumped, and had I not been trying to ease my shattered heart by browsing for makeup, I would never have seen it! It wouldn't have mattered what shade was available, since I just wanted to try the brand, period, but I was thrilled that it was Piú Mosso, as that was on my short list of polishes I wanted to try (along with Locavore, Scrangie, Under the Stars, and Iconoclast, to name a few). So, Steph, thank you for fulfilling one of my polish dreams, and for providing a bright spot in an otherwise terrible day! I shall forever treasure this polish for reminding me that, no matter how bleak life seems, there is still much joy to be found in the little pleasures (which, for me, definitely includes beauty bits and bobs!).

Rescue Beauty Lounge Piú Mosso, angled to show the awesome shimmer

Orly Nail Polish in Au Champagne (from the Holiday Soiree Collection) Review and Swatches

This polish came out for the holiday season, but it's still available online and may be floating around in some stores, so I figured I might as well post it. I got it on sale at Sally's after Christmas and wore it as part of my NYE mani. I finally got around to taking pictures of it by itself, and now have this lovely review to share with y'all.

Orly Au Champagne

NYX Maroon Nail Polish Review and Swatches

I thought I'd reviewed this already, but going through my photos stash, I realized I hadn't! Whoopsy daisy, my bad. Better late than never! Especially since this is a permanent shade.

2 coats NYX Maroon, no top coat

Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder Review and Pictures

Powder mattifying products are my best friend. I've used (and loved) Mattify! ULTRA in the past, but wanted to try something else that would hopefully be cheaper, and after trawling the internet, came upon Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder. Kryolan, stationed in Berlin (Ich bin Berliner!) is a makeup company designed for use in theater and bills itself as being long-wear and heavy-duty. Their Anti-Shine Powder is formulated to survive long shooting sessions while keeping the face shine-free, without adding a white cast. Does it succeed? (Spoiler: I can't actually attest to whether it survives long shooting sessions, since, hello, grad student not model/actor. But I figure my normal-person observations are helpful, too?)

See label

Essence Holographics.Com LE Nail Polish in Prism@tic White Review and Swatches

Essence came out with a "holographic" collection (scare quotes because the products were not, in fact, actually holographic, but rather duo/multichrome, a distinction apparently lost on the German brand) a few months ago, and I happened to come across a small display of some of the products in Ulta a few weeks ago.  I decided to only pick up one polish, Prism@tic White (stupid name, guys), that I thought I could use for wintry-themed nails and to layer over other polishes.  I decided to wear it over black to start with, because I knew its duochromeness would show up better over a dark polish.

Essence Prism@tic White

Sonia Kashuk Nail Colour in Blank Slate Review and Swatches

A few weeks ago, Target had a mobile coupon for $2 off any Sonia Kashuk cosmetics purchase, so I decided to pick up one of her nail polishes, Blank Slate, a dark blue-grey creme, normally $4.99.

Blank Slate

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette Review and Swatches

I picked up several things during the Sephora F&F sale, including this palette from Urban Decay.  Originally released this summer, I wanted it from the first time I saw it on Temptalia, but I knew it would eventually go on sale, so I bided my time.  I've never tried any Urban Decay eyeshadows, but the Naked palette has gotten such rave reviews that I've been wanting to for a long time.  Luckily for me, on sale did it go, and with my 20% off code, I picked it up for a mere $14.40.  Happy days!

Closed Rollergirl palette (gloss not shown, obviously)

Meow Wildcats in Puma and Snow Leopard Mini Review and Swatches

Wildcats are loose mineral powders intended to be used all over your body to add shimmer and shine.  I'm not really one to wear glitter anywhere beyond my eyes (and perhaps my cheeks for a special occasion), but I got these as free samples with past orders and thought I should at least share them with you!  They're very glittery and shimmery and festive, and seem like an amped-up Glow powder (which also comes in tinted forms, which I definitely need to check out), similar to Bobbi Brown Shimmerbricks.  Definitely not low-key or natural, but it's not intended to be!

Wildcats in Snow Leopard (left) and Puma (right); applied wet (top) and dry (bottom), in sunlight

NYX Eyeshadow in Iced Mocha Review and Swatches

One of the NYX items I picked up while I was in New York was this eyeshadow, Iced Mocha.  It's reputed to be a dupe for MAC's Satin Taupe, and I've been hearing about it for ages, so I decided it was worth the $5.50 to try.  I've used it several times since purchasing (and before photographing, so it's not in pristine condition!), and I'm liking it!

Iced Mocha (I keep wanting to type Satin Taupe...)

Essence Stay With Me Longlasting Lipgloss in Kiss Kiss Kiss Review and Swatches

Essence has almost made a lipgloss girl out of me.  After seeing more swatches of their Stay With Me longlasting gloss (for review and swatches of Berry Me and Candy Bar, see here), I added one more to my collection: sheer red Kiss Kiss Kiss.

Wet N Wild Fast Dry Nail Polish in Buffy the Violet Slayer Review and Swatches

If you can get past the bad-pun name (just wait for the two holo sparkles coming up; their names are even worse), this is a gorgeous purple shimmer.

Buffy the Violet Slayer

Holika Holika Clearing Petit BB SPF 30 PA++ Cream Review and Swatches

BB Creams have been all the rage in Asia for the past decade or so, but are only now making inroads in the American and European markets.  If you read other beauty blogs, I'm sure you've heard a lot about them, but in the off-chance you don't know what they are: BB creams, short for "beauty balm" or "blemish balm", are supposed to be an all-in-one face product, serving as moisturizer, foundation, concealer, sunscreen, and treatment (many have whitening ingredients, or anti-aging treatments, or, as the case with this one, anti-acne ingredients).  Here are a couple of posts summarizing them from the Muse, who is an expert on Asian beauty and has been using BB creams for many years.

In the past few months, there have been several BB creams introduced in America, but they are all high-end (and therefore out of my price range) and tend to be closer to tinted moisturizers/primers than actual BB creams.  I wanted to try a legitimate BB cream, especially one targeted towards acne and oily skin, so I turned to eBay.  I'd read many positive reviews from other bloggers on Holika Holika brand of BB creams, and had heard from them of bello-girl, who sells a ton of Asian beauty, including many, many kinds of BB creams, from South Korea.  I ordered the Clearing BB Cream, which has tea tree oil, from her at the beginning of August for $9.99 with free shipping.  It took 2 and a half weeks to get here, on the early end of the 2 to 4 week window I'd been told to expect when I ordered, and she included a very nice note and free sample (I need to find that, hmmm).  Overall, it was a very positive eBay experience, and I highly recommend buying from her if you're wanting to try a real BB Cream for cheap (not that $10 is particularly cheap to me, but compared to other BB creams, it's a fraction of the price).

Holika Holika Clearing Petit BB SPF 30 PA++