L'Oreal Infallible Gilded Envy and Infinite Sky Review and Swatches

I picked these up a while back when Rite Aid had 40% off L'Oreal and I felt like injecting some new sparkle to my eye collection. I love Bronzed Taupe, though I don't find the Infallible formula to be ironclad like others do, but I always wear eyeshadow primer anyways, so whatever. Gilded Envy and Infinite Sky are both very different from anything else in my stash, at least!

Gilded Envy is a crazy pewter-olive-grey-sage-whatthefuck glittery reflective pile of amazing.

macros r us

Manicure Monday

Hi again! I hope y'all have had a great holiday season. I've been enjoying my time off school and indulging in some reading for pleasure (it'd been years since I'd really done that!), which has left less time for research and blogging, but whatever. It's winter break! I'm going to hibernate. And code. (I finally actually made some headway in that department, and wow, I totally understand why people do CS. When it works, you feel like a GOD. It's awesome. When it doesn't work, you want to kill yourself and everyone you've ever known, but you can't, because then you'll never figure out the puzzle of why it's not working...)

Here are some pictures of manis I've done the last few weeks; I did a green and red one for Christmas, but didn't take pictures because I felt like ignoring my duties as a blogger, but I'm sure you'll see the polishes I used at some point in the future. For now, here are these!

Winter Wonderland

Schnee! Kar! Nieve! Snow! (All the languages I speak
use the same writing system. Sorry to be so boring.)

This is a single coat of three white polishes layered to try and create snowy nails. I did it during our week of snow, when I was trapped at home, before I got annoyed with the stupid white stuff. It's Wet N Wild's white $0.99 polish topped with Orly Au Champagne and Orly Winter Wonderland. It wasn't fully opaque, but I didn't really care, because the shimmer from Winter Wonderland helped disguise it. That polish is really appropriately named! It does look like frosty magic.

Quick Review: L'Oreal Color Caresse Shine Stain in Rose On and On

Hey! Have you entered the giveaway?

Picked up this rosy shade when they were on sale at Rite-Aid to complement the two brighter shades from the line that I already have.

The formula is the same as the others, though this one is sheerer and has shimmer in it so it's not as easily blotted (leaves shimmer behind). Wears really well, lasting 3 hours with no fading and even after eating leaves a pretty stain behind, and is a nice lippie for times when I want more than nude but less than plum. You can see it in action here.

Comparisons, left to right: Elizabeth Arden Rosy Shimmer 13, Clarins Coral Pink, L'Oreal Rose On and On, Revlon Sweet Tart, Guerlain Chamade  

If you're looking for a long-lasting, glossy, warm pink lippie and don't mind the strange slightly gummy texture, give Rose On and On a try. It's quite lovely! Grade: A-

How do you feel about pink? What do you think of this one?

L'Oreal Shine/Colour Caresse Gloss in 187 Infinite Fuchsia and 190 Endless Red Review and Swatches

Lipstick-gloss-stain hybrids! From the drugstore!

Pristine display at Rite Aid

Ever since reading about these on Nouveau Cheap, I've been eagerly anticipating their arrival in the states (why does L'Oreal release their awesomest stuff overseas first? The anticipation is terrible), and when I heard they had landed at some Targets a couple weeks ago, I put it on my to-search-for list. I didn't see it at Target, but luck struck when I went to Fred Meyer. There, a nearly-perfectly intact display––and at BOGO1/2 off! Angels sung, the sun shone (but seriously, the sun was shining that day, which is miraculous around these parts in December––see photo above), and I dithered for 15 minutes on what shades I should get. Now, a good, non-selfish blogger would have gotten two that were different in pigmentation intensity, in order to compare the longevity/application within the line, but I chose to go with two of the deeper shades because they were both just too pretty to pass up.

In case you'd forgotten what they look like since the last post

L'Oreal Shine Caresse Lip Gloss Preview

I found the new L'Oreal Shine Caresse lip glosses at Fred Meyer, and snatched up two of them (because how could I resist BOGO1/2? I would have bought more, but OPI polishes were buy 2 get 1 free, so I had to restrain myself somewhat). I debated whether to get two brights, or one bright and one more natural pink, but then decided that OF COURSE I should get the bright ones (187 Infinite Fuchsia and 190 Endless Red, to be precise). It is a decision I do not regret. I'm still testing these out and all that jazz, but I thought I should get swatches up sooner rather than later. So far, they seem very similar to the YSL Glossy Stains, are a relatively thin consistency which makes spreading/getting an even layer quite easy, and they smell like roses for a good 20 minutes after application. I'll have full reviews and looks up in the next few days! (ETA: Here it is!)

Endless Red (left) and Infinite Fuchsia (right)

30 Days: Day 11

Hey, y'all! I'm writing this (note; the post itself was written awhile ago) from Bandon on the Oregon coast, a lovely little town. My mother and I came for a few days for a much-needed vacation, and so far it has been lovely. I've taken lots of pictures, but unfortunately forgot to bring my camera cord, so a full post will have to wait until I get home, at which point I will also catch up on comments and other blogs. Until then, though, have another 30 Days!

Show us your lippie collection! (Where "lippie" includes anything tinted you wear on lips, because I forgot to include lip balm and am too lazy to take more pictures.)

Full-coverage lipsticks: L'Oréal Infallible Le Rouge in Bold Bordeaux, Sephora Rouge Cream in Sexy Game, Clinique High Impact Lip Color in After Party

I rarely wear any of these, because I tend to not go for opaque lipstick, since I find it to be much less forgiving. I absolutely loathe the L'Oréal lipstick, and will post my scathing review once I take some more swatch pictures (the ones I have right now are after I fiddled with it for awhile to try and make it work, which is not as accurate a portrayal as I would like). The Sephora lipstick is a pretty color, it's just, again, really opaque, and I may throw it out. The Clinique is also very dark and vampy, but I find I can apply it sheerly when I want, and it was my first department store beauty purchase, so I'll hold onto it for sentimentality's sake if nothing else!

L'Oreal Colour Riche (Le) Balm in Plush Plum Review and Swatches

I've spoken before of my love of Revlon lip butters. Sugar Plum is my HG MLBB shade, and I have 3 (yes, 3) of them in my possession. If they ever discontinue it, I will have to buy, like, 10. Fortunately, they're a new product, so I think I've got at least a few years before I have to worry about that!

Revlon's lip butters may be the most talked-about of the new drugstore lip butters, but L'Oreal has put one out as well, called (Le) Balm (nowhere on the packaging does it say "Le," but it's referred to as Le Balm on lots of blogs). There are 8 shades, compared to Revlon's mind-boggling 20. I'd read reviews before saying that L'Oreal's were much sheerer, lighter, and slicker than Revlon's, so I knew I had to get one of the more pigmented in the range, since I find sheer-to-the-point-of-invisibility lip colors to be a complete waste of time (that's what I have my Jack Black for, thank you very much). I ended up choosing Plush Plum as a potential MLBB.

L'Oreal Plush Plum Balm

30 Days Makeup Challenge: Day 7

For a summary of this series, see here!

What is your favorite eyeshadow color?
Well this is a no-brainer: TAUPE! I love how versatile and wide-ranging it is. Below are most of the taupes in my collection (all the ones that I wear or have recently acquired).

Left to right: Fyrinnae Arcane Magic Evocation, Fyrinnae Platinum, Fyrinnae Koala, L'Oreal Bronzed Taupe, Maybelline Bad to the Bronze, NYX Iced Mocha, theBalm Insane Jane

Platinum isn't really taupe at all, but let's just say I included it for comparison purposes, mk? Evocation and Koala are both the darkest and coolest, while Iced Mocha is the lightest and most gold and Bad to the Bronze the reddest. Bronzed Taupe is, in my opinion, the most versatile, flattering shade in my collection of taupes, and I love the texture, so if you don't have many taupes in your collection (and really, who ever has enough taupes?), I definitely recommend checking it out. I've got a couple of high end taupe shadows on my wish list (Le Métier de Beauté Corinthian and Chantecaille Sel), and I'm planning on picking up at least one of them when I'm in New York; I'd love to get both, but at $30 apiece, I really can't afford to!

Oh, taupe, you've ruined me for all other neutrals.

What's your favorite eyeshadow color? Do you share my fondness for taupe, or do you prefer brighter colors?

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe and Iced Latte Review and Swatches

Warning: this is a really wordy post. I have been lusting after these shadows for many, many months, ever since they released abroad last year, and I am so frickin' excited that they're available in the States now. This excitement manifests itself as verbal (or textual?) diarrhea, so: you've been warned.

Bronzed Taupe (left) and Iced Latte (right)

Anyways. Why would I want these so badly, you ask? (You did ask, right? That wasn't my imagination? Guys? Right?) Well, you may recall that last year, Giorgio Armani released a new eyeshadow formula, Eyes to Kill, which had the blogosphere all lit up with excitement. These shadows are pressed loose pigment (I know, weird) with intense pigmentation, metallic shine, amazing wear, and the most gorgeous marbled look. They are also $32 apiece, and therefore not something I can purchase lightly. Shortly thereafter, L'Oreal (which is owned by the same company as Armani) released a budget version, available only overseas and in Canada. The consensus seems to be that the quality of these is about on par with the Armani Eyes to Kill, but the colors are less complex (which makes sense, as the L'Oreal versions don't have the beautiful marbling color mix that the Armani do).

Why did it take so long for them to release them in the US? Psychological torture is my guess, but really, who knows. They've finally seen the error of their ways, though, and Infallible eyeshadow started trickling into US stores late last year and are now becoming available at the major drugstores. I think they've been available at Fred Meyer (and Meijer, and Harmons/Bed Bath and Beyond) for awhile now, but I didn't make my way over to the nearest Fred Meyer until a couple weeks ago. Fortunately, they had most of the colors, and I was able to pick up the two I knew I had to have to start with: Bronzed Taupe and Iced Latte. They were $8 each, BOGO1/2 off, so they ended up being $6 apiece, which given the quality and quantity is quite a deal! These are also available at Walgreens, Rite Aid (for $8, and are currently on sale BOGO1/2 off), and Ulta (probably CVS as well, but we don't have CVS around here, so I'm not positive).

Okay, wow, I really need to learn to get to the point. Here's hoping you find my rambliness charming...