a grape fit

i saw this polish on a blog a while ago, long before these medium purples were cropping up all over the place in easy to access/find spots like ulta and china glaze and maybelline (etc.) collections. i've wanted this guy since i first saw it, i just thought it was the perfect lovely purple that wasn't too dark or too blue or too periwinkle or too lilac etc. it's very feminine and i think it would be good for spring or fall. (not like i follow weather trends anyway but ya know, it's worth mentioning haha.) i uncovered this guy hiding in a bin on a trip to trade secret, yay!

a grape fit was the typical perfection that opi cremes usually are, great wide thick brush that i like. amazing buttery formula, great pigment, great shine. i am in purple nirvana. this is two lovingly applied coats.

my week is not going so awesome, having some family trubs. so send me some positive karma if you can spare any and i'll send some your way when i'm feeling more cheery. luv ya to everyone who visits, peeks, comments, lurks, and even the haters (who i've surprisingly gotten a lot of lately). i blog for comfort, for relaxation, for my sanity sometimes, and most of all for fun. a few ignorant remarks and emails aren't going to stop that. just sayin ;)

xoxo

40 beauty questions

this is the current tag going around, most people have done it, a lot of gurus have done it on youtube, etc. i wasn't exactly tagged for it, but i wanted to do it anyway so here it is :)


How many times do you wash your face daily?
once. i use makeup remover towelettes and eye makeup remover w/ a cotton ball at night, then wash in the shower. and in the morning? i splash water on my face. anymore than that and i get too oily. yes, washing too much can make skin produce more oil.

What skin type do you have?
combo, as most do. oily, big pores, dry patches, acne :(

What is your current facial wash?
i have a two that i use that have calmed my skin down sooo much in the past few months. nu skin ageloc foam gentle cleanse & tone and that acnefree benzoyl peroxide (2.5%) cleanser they sell at walmart (the rip off proactiv stuff).  it's really the only thing that keeps my acne at bay.


Do you exfoliate?
yes, the acnefree wash has exfoliating beads.

What brand do you use?
just told you.


What moisturizer do you use?
cetaphil during the day and benzoyl peroxide moisturizer at night


Do you have freckles?
a little, but not really

Do you use eye cream?
when i remember to yes, i use nu skin tru face ideal eyes

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
i didn't have acne except for the occasional spot until i turned 19 and then BLAM-O, horrible. not exactly cystic or anything, but i definitely never expected to look like a pizza face. it's gotten better progressively but i still battle it daily.

Did you ever have to use Pro-activ?
yes, it's amazing but too expensive. i buy stuff with the same active ingredients and it works the same. plus i hated the smell.

What foundation do you use?
i'm using a mixture of revlon colorstay and revlon photofinish. it gives me good coverage and easy blendability with that "natural" look.

How about concealer?
i just grab whatever, i think i'm using maybelline mineral liquid stuff right now.

Do you know your undertone color?
hmm, i'm guessing pink but i could be wrong.

What do you think of fake eyelashes?
i love them. do i know how to put them on? no.

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
i do what i want :) i have a million and a half mascaras anyway.

What brand of mascara do you use?
like i said, i have a million and i use them ALL. not at the same time of course... right now i'm especially loving mac plushlash, stila major lash, and loreal extra volume collagen mascara (waterproof).

Sephora or MAC?
tough call, but sephora. just for the sheer number of choices.

Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
nah, don't need it.

What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
stupid question. i am remembering why i don't do tags very often.

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
i've tried elf studio mineral primer, two faced shadow insurance, nyx shadow base, and urban decay primer potion. i have to say that udpp is really all it's cracked up to be. the besssst.

For the face?
no but i'm thinking i'm going to start. i've got my eye on the color correcting ones, i've pretty reddish these days. no bueno.

What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
all time?? sheesh. maybe clinique foxy or mac mulch.

Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
pencil pencil pencil

How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
dumb.

What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
umm except for bare minerals ones, i don't really have very many or want very many. too messy.

Do you use mineral makeup?
sometimes, but not as much as i used to.

What is your favorite lipstick?
up until a while ago, i had never ever bought a lipstick before. my first was mac's viva glam cyndi by cyndi lauper. i LOVE it! perfect coral red. and if you think it's too bright for you? it's not. believe me.

How about lipgloss?
nars orgasm. i'm a classics kinda girl.

What is your favorite blush to use?
nars deep throat.

Do you buy your makeup on ebay?
i never have.

Do you like drugstore makeup?
definitely. i like a lot of maybelline and cover girl shadows, lots of mascaras, foundations, brushes, etc. from all different brands. i'm more of a drugstore girl really.


Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
if i knew of any by me i would!

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
does youtube count?

Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
sure sometimes

Name a makeup crime that you hate?
i really don't care what you do with your face, it's yours. just BLEND for gawdsake!

Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick, eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
i stick to neutrals mostly, but i'll throw in a bright here and there.

Which celebrity always has great make up?
jennifer aniston, charlize theron, jennifer lopez

If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use?
mascara fo sho.

Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
sure i do it all the time.

Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
not really, but i don't think i look terrible or anything.

In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
hmm in general?? that's a toughy. maybe mac.


What do you think of Makeup?
it's fun times :)

i tag whoever would like to do this! have a great day!

two polishes i don't love

the first polish i don't love that i have to show you right now is called anita be me by icing. with a name that adorable and being from my beloved icing, how could i not want it?? that's right, i could not NOT want it. so i scooped it up. also it was in a half off bin so twice the score right? wrong. apparently, old non-big-3-free polishes by icing have this ugly swirly design on the side and a flower design on the cap of the handle and this thing had that. how did i come to to this conclusion? well, by common sense, as none of my other icing polishes have these. and by googling it of course, but also by smelling its hideous chemically smell when the cap came off. ewww. but whatev, i gave it a go anyway. it had holographic sparkles for gawd sakes, and it's GOLD! and you knnnooooowwww i cannot resist gold. the result is below:

fail. ugly, unfocused pictures aside...it's just not pretty IMO. and it smells. i literally groan when i see this polish in my stash. anyone who wants to swap for it?? it's YOURS!

the second guy that i really wanted to like is copper by l.a. colors. pretty plain name, not especially exciting in the bottle, but i was on a brown kick so i was game. and it was at the dollar store. so i was like "woot woot, score, woot yeahhhh i'm so down with cheap pretty polish WOOT!". and then i got it on my fingernails and i pretty much figured out why it was only a dollar. nothing in particular was horrible about it, it just wasn't good. bad, thick but watery formula, ugly color that was not flattering on me, and the brush was the wonkiest shortest thing i've ever seen. no bueno.

welp, as i've said before, they can't all be winners. and again, if anyone wants to trade for these *ahem* lovely polishes i would be more than willing. just send me an email :D

nina molten gold

this polish is a pretty unique one. it's a nina ultra pro from sally beauty supply called molten gold. i got it last fall and it was perfect for the crisp weather. haha it's perfect for the weather we're having now too, considering. gorgeous rose pink duochrome with flashes of warm gold. i've never seen anything quite like it, except from nina. there are a few in that line that are gold duochromey colors, but i think this one is the prettiest. i think nina polishes are severely underrated, so go out and explore your local sally's if you have one and check them out!

flash

lamp light

hope your weekend is going well my dearies!

purple pizzazz

i've seriously been trying to write this post for almost a month. i wore this polish back when i first bought it, when it first came out idk when. a million months ago?? and i'm just NOW finally finishing the pictures and uploading yadda yadda. it's been awful hard for me to blog recently. i get on a good rhythm and then i miss one day and i'm SCREWED again haha. so i apologize for this wishy-washy on/off again relationship i'm starting to have with my blogging. it's not you, it's me haha.

sally hansen's new polishes are really kickin if you ask me. this is one of my favorite colors in the Xtreme Wear line, purple pizzazz. it's a pretty rich purple jelly with a billion sparkles. this is three coats and i still had VNL (visible nail line) in most lights, but that doesn't bother me. if it bothers you, just use a ridge-filling base coat or a light nude polish as your first layer and it should help with opacity.  i don't actually love how this polish wears over time though, which isn't usually a problem for me as I re-paint almost daily, but this guy i had on like four days. it ended up looking dingy and kinda lackluster pretty quickly. i mattified it and i liked it way better. so i'll have to remember that if i want to wear it for more than one day.

flash, less blue IRL

lamp light, accurate color

sun, third day wear

mattified w/ Essie's Matte About You

my totally gangsta purple aviators - very appropriate for this post, no?

have a sweet sexy friday luvs! it's a total blizzard for us in northern utah right now. i'm kinda mad. isn't it supposed to be spring???

fantastic people

four leaf clover

this was my "green" for st. patrick's day this year. well, this and a shamrock & pirate's hat on my black Dropkick Murphy's concert t-shirt i wore too. how did you celebrate? i worked, went to the eye doctor, and hung out with my sister and watched american idol. awesome huh haha.

china glaze's four leaf clover came out with the up & away collection this spring. the whole collection was utterly divine, the brights being the stand outs in my opinion. this guy was no exception. notoriously hard to photograph though, i did my best to represent the almost-neon bright kelly green creme (with a little photo editing help). slides over the nail like butter, albeit a bit thick. i did end up thinning mine a little so i had more control. this is two coats w/ poshe topcoat. p.s. btw i've been using poshe lately since i've run out of my seche vite and i am surprised to say i REALLY like it! like a lot. hmmm i may be looking into switching...haha!

geezzzz this is a hard color to capture on camera. if you want a TRULY accurate swatch, which i'm sure you do, go head over to Asami's blog. she's got the skills that i lack when it comes to this guy (and a lot of other stuff haha!).

80s nails & a haul (pic heavy)

this is the manicure i wore for my friend's 80s themed birthday party a few weeks ago. everyone loved them haha, it was good times. i used essie's flirty fuchsia and massini lightening blue. as you can see, i freehanded the triangles (cuz they suck a bit haha). but it was a last minute decision as i was running late for the occasion.

as i am feeling brave, i've included a few select pictures of some of the festivities below:

nubar sapphire

hellllloooo and happy st. patty's day luvers! hope it's going great! don't get pinched, find a leprechaun and get some gold, and as always, GET PISSED (i.e. drink some green beer)! i'm actually sporting a lovely green polish, China Glaze 4 leaf clover from the up and away collex, but i'm behind in posting OF COURSE, so here's another old nubar i haven't shown you yet.

this is nubar's sapphire, from the royal gems collection 2009. i wasn't convinced this collection was that great based on swatches i saw on the net, but my trusty pal mickelle went and bought a bunch of them anyway and i borrowed them and BOY was i wrong! they are all pretty magnificent. sapphire is a lovely medium blue with tiny microglitz that makes it slightly chunky but it dries smooth ala a shimmer. it's almost like it's not really glitter at all, weird but cool. this is two coats i believe.

nubar purple rain

this is a swatch of a gorgeous deep purple glitter from nubar. purple rain is the perfect name for it. and sorry if it gets that Prince song stuck in your head, like it does mine, everytime i hear "purple rain". the glitter in it is both silver and holo if i can see clearly, but this is an old swatch and i borrowed this polish so i could be wrong. i also was in a long stretch of night swatching so no sun photo :( but i would imagine it would look much warmer in the daylight. very pretty and very flattering.

i took a blurry shot to show you the lovely sparkles!

lamp light shows the glitter defined

and of course i had to mattify it :)

i liken this to essie's starry starry night only in purple and kinda better, because there's a tinge of that holo greatness we all love so much!

conserve and reclaim

oldies. with my oldie crappy camera. i apologize about the quality of these pictures. i took a ton of swatch pictures with the craptastic thing. so i am finally getting around to posting them.

this is nubar conserve. (i borrowed these from my friend mickelle :D) it is a lovely blue-green with slight shimmer sheen that came out in nubar's "going green" collection last year. it's not really my color, but a very nice medium cool green. this swatch is two coats.

i love holographic polishes, you love holographic polishes, everyone loves holos! probably... if you don't then it's ok, i still like you. but honestly, a GREEN holo? whew i never thought i'd see the day. but dear ol' vegan-friendly nubar did it. reclaim is a grass green sparkley rainbow of holographic wonder. i wish i'd have gotten a daylight photo of this, because it's just unbelievable under the sun. two coats :D

again, *BLECH* about the pictures. my hands do not usually look so lobstery or weathered or yucky. hope everyone's monday is going well!

ocean love potion

my gorgeous fantastic sister Clarrisa got me this polish from sephora on one of her many business trips with her company, Nu Skin. she gets to go freaking everywhere, she's been to Hong Kong and all over the states. hopefully she'll get to go to Africa (Malawi) soon, where the company's charity organization Force For Good has one project called "Seeds of Hope" that she personally helped conceive. she's pretty much amazing.

anyway, back to the awesome polish she got me! this is sephora by opi's ocean love potion. it is a medium dusty teal/turquoise color that i fell head over heels with. i hear it is a tad darker than misa's dirty sexy money but pretty close. sephora's website describes it as "a sensuous shade inspired by the gorgeous meeting of sea and sky in Capri" [sephora.com] and i have to agree haha. very Mediterranean. i wore this color in winter and i will wear it in summer. awesome formula, i love them SOPIs! this is two coats.

in direct sun

have a happy thursday kids!