MAC Haul + Ka'oir

Here's a baby haul from earlier this month. I really really really wanted like 99.9% of the Iris Apfel Collection but to make a long story short, I didn't get the email/ By the time I checked the site Flamingo & Pink Pigeon were gone/I called my nearest store & the lying broad told me it was an online collection only & she didn't even know what Pink Pigeon was. So I gave up on it. Like two days later, my girl Jenni gets hers from her MAC store. Imagine my confusion. I'm not going to bash the lady I called too much, because it was a MAC inside a Macy's. So it's probably true that they didn't get that collection but ughhh lol why tell me it's online only?? I could've been calling other stores looking for it. I lost two days of precious Pink Pigeon & Flamingo hunting time. So anyway!! By that time, I was over it! Honestly though, I was just bitter as hell & didn't want anything else from that one. lol We got Beach Sand & A Perfect Day from the Naturally collection & the Blue Brown pigment that they finally put back up! My boyfriend ended up getting me Pink Pigeon from ebay, I think. I told him not to, that I didn't want it. (secretly I did) lol but didn't want him to go out of his way because of some dumb lady. Soooooo glad he did though 'cause it's lovely. lol ily bby ♥

MAC Beach Sand • MAC A Perfect Day • MAC Pink Pigeon • MAC Blue Brown Pigment

MAC Pink Pigeon • MAC Beach Sand • MAC A Perfect Day • MAC Blue Brown Pigment

Aa-ya-yaii. Okay so I recently got Trina's Neon Rockstarr from Ka'oir. I saw what I thought was going to be a neon pink matte lipstick! But when I got it, I noticed it has kind of like a frost finish. It doesn't really show up in my picture below but you can kind of tell in this video. It's still a really pretty pink but it looks like the lips are cracking when they move. I'm really trying to love this lipstick 'cause it wasn't cheap but I'm not completely loving it yet. Maybe with some gloss? We shall see.

Wearing MAC Pink Pigeon [Left] • Ka'oir Neon Rockstarr [Right]

For comparison purposes I pulled out some lipsticks that I thought would be in the same range as Neon Rockstarr & Pink Pigeon. I didn't really think I had anything similar to either of them. & That certainly was the case for NR. But at the last minute, I remembered Milani's Rose Hip (which is why it's not pictured above lol) So I did a quick swatch of it with Pink Pigeon & even though the finishes are different, the color is pretty darn close! Not exact but kind of close.

I swatched some similar nudes I had to these to compare. A Perfect Day is like a warmer & much better version of Nostalgic. Nostalgic for some reason, doesn't apply very well. It's really nice & creamy but I've noticed now, that it kind of just sits on top of my lips. It doesn't absorb into the skin on your lips very much. (Erm. If that makes any sense) If I smack my lips, a lot of it comes off! Like it's just sitting on top? While, A Perfect Day is.. well.. perfect. I swatched Iconic twice because I wanted to see it next to A Perfect Day.

MAC Blue Brown Pigment. I first knew I had to have this pigment when the Lovely Becca from Nars Cupake was wonderful enough to compare it to the second Definer in the Comfort Zone palette. (which I lovee!) You can see her awesome swatches HERE. She compares this one, MAC's Club, & Label Whore from Too Faced to the WnW one. They're all pretty similar but man, this pigment just jumped out at me lol. I haven't worn it yet but it's so beautiful.

[My Pic Source]

Here's a pic of me wearing the Definer from Comfort Zone. Pretty similar, right? I'll try to make a look, asap with this pigment to see how it looks on the lids. Eeep, this color excites me! lol I've never loved a color so much. I think I have a problem.


Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you enjoyed the swatches ^.<
xOxO

Vivacious Fuschia+Wild Nails.

Milani HD Advanced Lip Color • Vivacious Fuschia 112

Holiz (: I just wanted to show the Milani lipcolor that I received earlier this week. Sometime last month, Milani's FB was giving away these lipcolors & even catered to your color preference which I thought was pretty cool! They sent a full size lipstick. I wish more cosmetic companies would do this! I'm looking at you, Revlon!

Pros.

• Really moisturizing & creamy. It glides on really smoothly like a lip balm without the waxy-ness.
• It's a sheer lipstick but can easily be built up to full coverage.
• Fruity watermelon scent. Might be a con for some girls. But it's not overwhelming & I find it pretty pleasant.
• Sleek design & has a lot of product.
• High shine!

Cons.

• As you can see from the pictures, the color bleeds really easily. (top right)
• Lasting power is not very long. The color faded significantly within the hour.
• Kind of pricey for a not-so-special lipstick. I've seen them at Walgreens for around $7 or $8
• It's not a regular up & down tube. It clicks up & down. This might not matter to some people, but I just don't like that lol.

I love the red based pink but am not a big fan of  the application. I prefer matter lips, so I probably won't get much use out of this. I do love how moisturizing it is, though.

NOTD: Wild Nails!

KKCenterHK N.NAIL 20 Pieces Nail Stickers • LA Colors French Overlap Nails

I used these full nail stickers along with my Lee Press On's the other day. Haa. Although I got a lot of air bubbles on my first hand lol I managed to pull it together on the other one. I'm not sure what kind of animal print it is but it's really pretty. I was super disheartened though because the stickers started to peel off the next day. :(

Thanks so much for stopping by (:
xOxO!

My Hits & Misses!

Oh the ups & downs of being a beauty consumer! There are times when we pick up a random blush for a couple dollars & it unexpectedly ends up being our favorite go-to cheek color! Then we have times when we wait & save up for the most anticipated "must have" of the season, & it ends up being a total piece of garbage! We've all been there. I've collected some of my biggest favorites & some of my biggest disappointments lately. Lol I was considering doing just a [Favorites] post because I hate being negative but some of these really let me down! & I must vent!!

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♥ The Hits ♥

1.) Wet n Wild's Petal Pusher: After being lightweight let down by "Blue Had Me At Hello", I wasn't really planning on picking up anymore of the 8-pan palettes. The blues were kind of hard to blend for me & I thought I would probably get "Comfort Zone" but not this one. I decided to give it a try anyway & I love it. I literally love every color in this. The shadows are soft & the quality is perfect.

2.) Orly's Oh Cabana Boy: Ahhh I love this color! It's a hot pink with a blue undertone that's more obvious IRL. When I first saw it, I thought "Cotton Candy!" lol & for some reason I expected that to be the name of the polish when I turned it over lol. The application is great! The pic above is two coats & was 2 days ago & I haven't had any chipping yet. An obvious hit for me! <3

3.) Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls 3D in Translucent Pearl: My hands down HG face highlighter. I was on the hunt for a powder highlighter for my cheekbones (that's really the only place I highlight) now that summer's coming up. This powder gives off a great glow without being too much. It makes the face look really healthy & I love the way it smells. + The packaging is adorable! It also has a little pearl at the top lol so pretty. (:

4.) Pond's Clarant B3 Moisturizer: It's a dark spot correcting moisturizer that's supposed to even skin tones in 2 weeks & reduces the appearance of dark spots in 4 weeks. I don't use it for this. I just use it as my everyday face moisturizer before I put on my makeup & after cleansing before I go to sleep. It doesn't clog the pores & it does wonders under my eyes. I love it!

Before & After using Shampoo [4 wks]

5.) Regis Designline Silver Shine Shampoo: This shampoo saved my life recently lol. When I dyed my hair blonde, I was left with an ugly ugly yellow-orangy color. My cousin gave me this shampoo that they had recommended to her when her highlights came out brassy. The bottle says "helps to neutralize brassy & yellow tones on grey & blonde hair" & I used it all last month, everyday after using my regular shampoo. I'd leave it in for about 5 mins before rinsing it out. I loveee it! I'm so glad my hair didn't stay looking like Cheetara lol I don't have to use it anymore.

6.) Urban Decay's Naked Palette: Now I'm not a big sucker for neutral shadows. In fact, I think they're quite boring lol I don't know what made me want to jump on the Naked bandwagon but I eventually did & I'm actually glad I did. lol I love this palette & I think the colors (although neutral) are actually really unique & so gorgeous. Even the matte colors like Naked & Buck are so pretty to me. I've been reaching for this a lot since I got it. I love it.. I just didn't love the steepish price. Lol

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The Misses! :c

1.) Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Antique Gold: Okay before you freak out. Let me explain myself! lol I really really really wanted the black one but when I got to Walgreens when they came out, it was already sold out. :c So I thought maybe the gold would be okay. This was the only color I got from the set & the picture above was like my 10th try doing this & it came out decent, at best. =/ The polish is very sheer & you can't see the cracks. You literally have to apply the whole glop of polish to get a thick layer & have some crackle (like the pic above). That's the most crackle I could get out of it & it's not what I expected. I wanted it to look as good as the China glaze & OPI ones but no such luck. It's not the worst polish, I just feel like for a $7 nail polish, we shouldn't have to work so hard to get the effect that it advertises on. If anyone wants this, I'll send it to you lol I get so mad when I look at it. I still want the black one though. I've seen some reviews that bash the silver & gold ones but love the regular ones. So I'm thinking maybe the #fail in this has to do with whatever they use to make the polish shimmer.

2.) Milani Even-Tone Powder Foundation (01 Shell): I really had high hopes for this. The product feels sooooo silky & feels just amazing on the skin. The color matched me exactly!! Which is amazing 'cause I have the worst time trying to find my color in any foundation/powder. I'm light-skinned but most of the fair foundations/powders have pink undertones & mine are yellow. So I was really excited about this one until I put it on my face. It's extremely sheer. I guess this would be good as a setting powder. But one of the main things I look for is coverage. I loveee a flawless matte face. This offered the matte but not the flawless lol If I try to build it up for coverage, it starts to look a bit ashey & powdery. So although this has the potential to be a great powder for other girls.. it's a big fat MISS for me. =/

3.) MAC Violet Trance Eyeshadow: I got this awhile back at The Cosmetic Company Store where they sell discontinued or hard to find MAC stuff. I was really excited to try it. I have such a big thing for purple eyeshadows. I love the way they look on brown eyes. So anyway! This shadow's initially came out like 2 years ago, it's from the Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection, it's a matte shadow. *Sigh* So it sounds & looks so perfect but I was so disapointed when I tried to swatch it. No, ladies.. You don't have to adjust your screen settings. That is not a smudge you see above.. that is all I could get when I swatched Violet Trance. It's sooooo sheer & to its defense, it is buildable! & Eventually, after a crapload of rubbing & rubbing & rubbing your brush into the shadow.. you will be able to build the color up. It just didn't seem worth it, at all to me. I lightly swatched some WnW shadows from the Lust palette to show the difference. When I'm paying 3-4 times more money for an eyeshadow.. I expect the color payoff to be better. Call me crazy! I guess I just payed for the brand. *tear*

4.) Crest 3D White Strips (2 Hour Express): Yes, I too fed into the hype of these. :c Can I just say though, for the record.. This is the Mother of all misses. This is the worst thing that has ever crossed paths with me all year. I can't even remember a time I was more in pain than after I took these strips off. I wish I would've read the HONEST reviews on these before I tried them. The only reviews I had seen on these strips were those by Youtube gurus =/ & after trying them myself.. I'm convinced they were lying or didn't leave them on for two hours. I took these off at around 7pm & didn't get any sleep til around 6am. I stayed up all night in agonizing pain & crying. (Thank God I have such a wonderful boyfriend btw) The pain was far beyond just sensitivity. My teeth hurt inside & out & didn't let up at all. I couldn't even open my mouth because the air hurt. I don't recommend these to ANYONE.. besides the fact that they hurt like hell. I noticed zero change in my smile. All the reviews from normal people (non-youtube gurus) that I've seen, have had the same bad experience I did. I don't even know how this product is still out. It really should be banned. It's absolutely horrible!

Sorry to end on such a negative note lol Welp! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!! ♥
Thanks for reading!!

xOxO

Quite Cute Collection: Swatches+Dupes [Updated 9/25/12]

Awww. I know I say this a lot but the kid really deserves it. My man is sooo good to me. ♥ Remember how the only lipstick I could get from this collection was Saint Germain, well not only did he go online to get me Candy Yum Yum but he also got me the purple lipstick & the minty nail polish. :3 Gawsshh I felt so spoiled. Haa. I love my cupcake. c:

Lipsticks: Play Time • Candy Yum Yum • Saint Germain. Nail Polish: Mischievous Mint.

[click images to enlarge]

China Glaze For Audrey • MAC Mischievous Mint • Revlon Minted

Obviously Mischievous Mint isn't a super unique color either. Haha. It looks really similar to some of the Essie nail polishes I've seen also. But from the polishes I had, I found it most close to Revlon's Minted. I'd say Mischievous has a tad bit more of a blue tint to it than green. But they're still pretty close in color. At first, I was hellbent that it was going to be exactly or more close to For Audrey but nooooo. Gorgeous color, nonetheless.

Candy Yum Yum = Mabelline Fuchsia Fever?

Mabelline Fuchsia Fever • MAC Candy Yum Yum • Milani Rose Hip • WnW Nouveau Pink

[click images to enlarge]
I think the lipstick closest to Candy Yum Yum is Mabelline's Fuchsia Fever. The only obvious difference is that Candy Yum Yum is a neon pink & matte while Fuchsia Fever is more of a satin. They're damn near identical though! Rose Hip & Nouveau Pink, I think would definitely work also if you're going for that bright pink lip. Although it's a different finish too & they're more on the red-pink side.

Updated Comparisons/Swatches Below 9/25/12

Candy Yum Yum Comparisons

Mabelline Fuchsia Fever • NYX Shocking Pink • Ka'oir Neon Rockstarr • MAC Candy Yum Yum • MAC Dear Diary • MAC Pink Pigeon • Milani Rose Hip

Now let's get to the good part! Out of these first three lipsticks, the closest one to CYY is Mabelline Fuchsia Fever. The difference being that "CYY" is a neon pink matte.. while "FF" is a bright pink but isn't neon & has more of a wet finish. "Shocking Pink" is way too dark & "Neon Rockstarr" is more of a frost & is too light.

From the next three lipsticks, the best match is "Dear Diary" although it's just a bit darker. "Pink Pigeon" & "Rose Hip" are way more on the reddish pink side & aren't even close to "CYY".

The Results

Candy Yum Yum on the top lip & the comparisons on the bottom lip.

It came down to these two. "Dear Diary" is the clear winner. You can tell more, in person. It is only slightly darker than CYY. "Fuchsia Fever" comes close but lacks the neon & the matte finish. Neither is exact but they're the closest I could find from my collection.

Moxie Comparisons & Results

Moxie on the top lip & Spellbound on the bottom lip. (I should've compared Smokin Hot Pink too lol sorry)

Moxie was way easier lol. I don't have a ton of colors like this but it wasn't hard to find look alikes in my collection. The first one I found is "Smokin Hot Pink" by Wet n Wild which has nothing pink about it, either. -.- In person, it shares the same matte finish as Moxie but in color, it's darker & has more of a brown tint to it than Moxie but is still very very very similar. The other color I found is "Spellbound". It is practically the same color. It's so much like Moxie.. the most notable difference is that "Spellbound" has that creamy finish but the color is almost exact.

Thanks so much for reading!!!

xOxO ♥