More Sinful Colors Almost Famous Collection Swatches!

I just couldn't resist. I had to go hunt down the rest of this collection! My poor polish rack (and wallet) are suffering from all the polishes I've been accumulating lately, but how could I say no to these adorable glitters? Besides, I couldn't show you only part of the collection, could I?

Of course not! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

On to the pictures! It was overcast and dreary all day today, so all of these pics were taken in the shade.

And now the whole collection. Keep in mind that the glitters look more opaque in real life, with the exception of Lush Life. That one's opacity is represented well here. All swatches are two coats with no top or base coat.

Fantasy: pale lilac micro-glitter with larger multi-colored circle glitter. This shade is basically In the Spotlight with a pale lilac micro-glitter base instead of seafoam.

*Super Star: blue-green micro-glitter mixed with larger purple glitter in a blue jelly base. The end effect looks like teal shimmer with scattered purple glitter when you look at it in most lights.

Show Stopping: Small holo and pale pink glitter in a clear base. This one is pretty in the sunlight! I've read from several bloggers that it's a near dupe for OPI Teenage Dream and almost an exact dupe for Sally Hanson's X-treme Wear Strobe Light. I wish I had these colors to swatch and compare!

The Lowdown: All in all, I think this is a great glitter collection. It's nice that none are from the core collection or repromoted LE shades from past collections. The formulas were a bit thick on some, but I didn't have any exceptional trouble with any of them and I didn't find myself fishing for glitter. As far as colors go, there were some with interesting combinations that I didn't have previously in my collection and they were all packed pretty well with glitter. I think most of these would be amazing over a colored base. They're definitely worth the $2 price tag and the treasure hunt that goes along with finding them (that's half the fun, right? I keep telling myself that, haha!)

*Super Star is part of the Walgreens "Almost Famous" display while Bombshell is part of Rite Aid's "Paparazzi" display. This is the only difference between the two collections.

Swatches: Sinful Colors Go Green Collection (Shamrock Repromote)

It's that time again! Ah, St. Patty's day. A day for guzzling booze with no shame, covering yourself in green for fear of being pinched a million times (usually by people drunker than you), and of course the return of the Sinful Colors Shamrock (this year called Go Green) collection. Especially anticipated is the return of Green Ocean, in all its flaky goodness.

From my local Walgreens. 

The collection consists of three shades: Irish Green, Green Ocean, and Exotic Green.

As always, click on the pictures to enlarge! 

In sunlight:

In the shade:

Irish Green: 
This shade wants to be a neon, but comes off more like a bright kelly green. It has a semi-matte finish. This color is often repromoted in SC neon collections.

Green Ocean:
Oh, how I struggled to capture the nuances of this polish! It has green and blue flakes suspended in a very sheer, pale green base. I've seen it best layered over black on other blogs, but I've layered over Exotic Green here. I recommend using a top coat since the flakes make for a bit of a bumpy surface otherwise. Nothing major, but it might irritate some.

Exotic Green:
This is a core collection shade. It shows up more like a true green here, but it's actually a bit mossier than that. I think of it as kind of a slightly grayed-out forest green. The first swatch in the shade is much more color-accurate.

Overall I really like these colors. I can honestly say that in my 200+ colllection of polishes I have nothing like any of them.

Happy Hunting! These should be pretty easy to find.

Mail Time: February 2013 Beauty Boxes

Is there anything better than finding your mailbox stuffed full of  goodies? No, I think not. Today I received two subscription boxes and a Hautelook order. All fun stuff and not a bill or junk mail in sight? It must be my lucky day!

I'll have a review on the Hautelook order later, but for now I wanted to focus on the three beauty boxes I subscribe to and received this month: Ipsy (formerly MyGlam), Birchbox, and my very first Julep Maven box. I'm sure most of you know what these services are all about, but if not be sure to click on the links and check them out for detailed explanations and ordering info.

On to the boxes!

First up, Ipsy. And can I just add that I absolutely love the metallic hot pink mailer these come in? They instantly brighten up my day when I see them gleaming in my mailbox.

From left to right:

MICA Beauty Cosmetics gel liner 

Lash Card -- 4 individually wrapped mascara guards

Pixi Flawless and Poreless primer

pop beauty mascara in Smoky Black

Coastal Scents eyeshadow in Glitz &Glamour (Candlelight, Gunmetal, Incognito, and Ashen)

I haven't tested everything out, but the eyeshadows are pretty pigmented. They're the same quality as you would get with the 88 Palettes (and the like). I've used the Pixi primer once. I'll have a more thorough review on it later, once I've had a chance to really give it a spin.

I'm generally pretty satisfied with all of the Glam Bags I get from Ipsy. They've been pretty good about sending deluxe sized samples with products I actually get use out of, from brands I wouldn't normally try. In my opinion this service is worth the $10 per month. 

Birchbox:

Left to right:

SKIN & Co Roma Cleansing Body Gel with Olive and Sicilian Orange Extracts

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips (Yep, really!)

Color Club mini in Wild Cactus

Ghirardelli Milk and Caramel Square

twistband hairband

First, I think it's interesting that both Ipsy and Birchbox went with the "Red Carpet Ready" theme, but considering all the award shows this month it's really not that hard to understand the reasoning.

So. The products themselves. I haven't had a chance to review the products thoroughly (except the chocolate, which was yummy, of course!), but my initial impressions is that this box is kind of underwhelming. I guess this month just felt kind of chintzy compared to past months; there are no "wow" products included and I'm not impressed with the tiny sample of lip balm. The Dr. Lipp's looks like an okay size for a balm sample, but tube is only filled from the bottom pink line down. I will say that I have it on my lips right now and it is very soothing to my dry lips. If you've ever breastfed before then you know the texture and scent breast balms have. This one is no different. Who'da thought about putting that on your lips? It makes a lot of sense. 

The shower gel has a very unisex scent and contains about two to three shower's worth of gel. You're mileage may vary, of course. The twistband headband works better for me and my super thick hair than the twistband ties. I think the item I'm most excited about is the Color Club polish. It's a color I somehow don't already own! As a bonus, the Pantone color of the 2013 is emerald green, so I suspect we'll be seeing as much of that color as we did tangerine last year. 

Okay, onto the the newbie of the bunch!

My very first Julep Maven box (Classic with a Twist):

Left to right:

Julep Nail Color in Meryl

Julep Nail Color in Barbara

Julep Facial for Hands Glycolic Hand Scrub

Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

Can't wait to give these a whirl! 

Well hello!

First, thanks so much for stopping by! I'm Carrie and among other things I am a complete beauty fanatic. Like most people, I don't have a ton of disposable income to indulge in my makeup and beauty cravings, so I depend on reviews from bloggers and Youtubers to help me make more informed decisions before dropping my hard-earned cash on the latest gimmick. Still, temptation gets the better of all of us once in a while. So many times I've been dazzled by a product in the store, brought it home, and wanted to rant or rave about it -- only to realize my husband will probably never be as enthused about a miracle concealer or outraged by a horrible eyeshadow as I am. "But wait!" my inner (wannabe) guru whines, "I need to share my experiences!"

So here we are!

I'm not a mega-guru or a professional makeup artist (hopefully someday), but I am a regular girl with a love of makeup and beauty who is eager to learn and share experiences about both. If you're a newbie or mid-level wannabe artist like me, we'll learn together! If you're a pro, please feel free to share your tricks of the trade!

Welcome to my blog. :D

~Carrie