March 31, 2010

China Glaze Spin Me Round was part of my latest VNS haul I posted about last week. I love China Glaze holographic polishes for their nice variety in colour and they also lasts on my nail so much more than their regular finish polishes. This particular one is a golden beige base with multicolour holo affect. It's more subtle than the rest of the holo polishes I have but still stunning.

Here it is, 2 coats of China Glase Spin Me Round.

March 31, 2010

I'm feeling much better today. I'm usually the happy go lucky type so the weird moods make everyone wonder what's up with me, lol! It's the last day of the month and time for my monthly favourites yet again. As per usual, these items are not necessary new but they are what I've been using a lot for the month in question (March).



1. Nars Niagara Lipstick - Niagara is a satin finish lipstick; it applies evenly and can be sheer (one coat) or opaque (two coats). I love Nars satin lipstick formula a lot, I would say I like it even more than MAC's amp cream finish. Niagara is a lovely pinky coral shade and is great for spring and summer. It's also one of those universal shades I imagine looking great on most skintones. This lipsticks is getting lotsa love from yours truly.

2. MAC In Synch lip liner - This limited edition lip liner was released with the Too Fabulous collection last month and it's quickly becoming one of my favourite lip liners of all time. The texture is creamy and smooth and the colour is a pale yellow pink. It's great for cooling down lipsticks you might find too coral (to make them more pink) or warm up lipsticks that are very blue based (like St Germain). In Synch is now a staple of mine and I need MAC to make it perm already!

3. MAC Shell Pearl beauty powder - this glowy peachy powder was released with Give Me Beauty of London this month. I love the pearly finish this powder gives to my cheeks. On top of Prim n Proper blush from the same collection, Shell Peal does amazing things to my complexion. I have neutral undertones and I find that this powder makes my cheeks look slightly warmer and glowy.

4. Bobbi Brown Ivy Shimmer gel liner - this is hands down my favourite gel liner, in colour and texture, of all the brands I've ever tried. If you have hazel-ish eye colour like mine try this dark green shade to bring out the gold in your peeps. Much like Cobalt Ink which was in my January favourites, Ivy Shimmer is super long lasting, will not smudge of flake until you take it off. Two thumbs up!

5. Essie Lilacism - this pale lavender shade has been on my nails at least 4 times this month. This is a record for me as I still have so many untried bottles and some I've worn only once since last year, lol! I love this shade for transitioning into spring and hence gave it lotsa love. I find Lilacism on the runny side but I like the shade so the formula doesn't bother me. Click here for swatches.

What were your top 5 products for the month of March? Have you tried any of my top 5 products?

March 30, 2010

I wore my brand new Birds n Berries incorporated in a colourful look today. I feel kinda meh about it but that might be coz I just feel meh these days in general! I'm going through some personal issues and hence my blog posts seem to be shorter. I hope to get out of this phase soon. On a brighter note, Shayla is coming to visit me on Thursday so that's something to look forward to :)

Here's today's look. Hope you guys like.

Face
LW Portfolio - Light
Nars Sheer Glow foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye Translucent Powder
Nars Deep Throat blush
BB Apricot Shimmerbrick

Eyes
Paiterly p/p - base
Melon p/m - inner lid
MUFE #118 - mid lid
Birds n Berries e/s - outer lid
Deep Blue Green p/m - outer v
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
LW Black teal e/l - to line

Lips
Fresh Salmon l/s
Nymphette /g

March 29, 2010

This is the look I wore to my parents annual Persian New Year party last night. I wanted to contrast the warm shimmery eyes with bold cool fuchsia lips and I liked the result. All the woman in the party loved my makeup. I wasn't too happy with my hair though, it just wouldn't behave! I think I'm just getting tired of my bangs, can't wait till they grow out.

Hope you all had a fabulous first day of the week. Here's the look:

Face
LW Portfolio - light
Diorskin Nude - 022
Ben Nye Translucent powder
Sculpt
BB Nude Shimmerbrick

Eyes
Cashflow p/p - base
Naked Cosmetics Ebony stack - antique gold shade on lid
Reflects Antique Gold glitter - lid
Cork e/s - crease
Wedge e/s - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Annabelle Brown e/k - to liner and smudge

Lips
Trimmed in Pink l/l
Show Orchid l/s - blotted
True Babe l/g

March 29, 2010

I made a random trip to the mall on Saturday to pick something for my friend's b-day (which was on Saturday, I'm a procrastinator!). I've been regretting for a bit now not picking up Birds n Berries e/s from MAC Liberty of London collection. So I stopped by a counter in this mall and found it in stock there luckily.



I'm glad I picked this up, it looks like my type of colour. I have no idea I waited so long to buy it. It looks nothing like Deep Blue Green as you can see below.


Birds n Berries on the left, Deep Blue Green p/m on the right

And then the Nars fiend that I've become I stopped by their counter to get some more duos. I really like the duos I got before. I think the pigmentation is great and I don't mind the price tag as you get two e/s for $38CAD. You would spend the same amount on MAC but you get more products with Nars. I was gonna just get one but I couldn't decide between the two I wanted so I got both. I got Star Sailor and South Pacific.



Star Sailor is described on the Nars website as a heather gold and antique bronze duo and I think the description is right on. The gold side is a bit like MAC's Gorgeous Gold but not as as green and the bronze side reminds me of MAC's Museum Bronze p/m (LE) but not as dark. The texture of both sides is lovely. I'm recently digging these earth tone shades so this was a happy addition to my stash.



swatches


South Pacific is described on the Nars website as a shimmering blue turquoise and dark aquamarine duo. The blue turquoise is a bit like MAC's Tilt but more pigmented. The aquamarine side is in between MAC's Mutiny and Teal p/m. Again both sides are very pigmented and apply smoothly. I have a weakness for the ocean colours and as the summer is approaching, I thought this duo would be a nice start.



swatches


Do you guys own any of these products? Bought anything recently you want to share?

March 27, 2010

The hubby is out running errands and I was bored so I did this look on myself. I wanted to use Royal Sugar pigment from Sugarpill so that's what the look is based on. I used Royal Sugar damped first and then layered it dry on top. You can't see it in the pics that well but it's truly a gorgeous colour. I've been very pleased with my Sugarpill goodies and already contemplating a second order.

What's everyone doing this weekend? I have a b-day party to go to tonight and then tomorrow is my parents annual Persian New Year party. They have about 50 guests; there'll be lotsa yummy food, drinks, music and Shisha, lol! Hope everyone enjoys their weekends!

Face
LW Portfolio - Light
MUFE HD - 118 (Flesh)
Ben Nye Translucent Powder
Azalea Blossom b/o

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Sugarpill Royal Sugar - lid
MUFE #92 - crease
Nars Jolie Poupee Duo - lavender side above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Lark About p/m - tear duct
BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line
LW Opale e/g - to add line between double wing liner

Lips
Snob l/s
Shift to Pink l/g





I do not understand why one looks so pale under natural light :/





These two are taken with flash

March 26, 2010

I'm on a roll with the blog posts today! I guess I'm trying to forget about a couple of annoying days at work but throwing myself into blogging. This is a simple and sorta boring look I did today, I must have worn these colours together 100 times! But I wanted to post it coz I need you guys' feedback.

In the last set of FOTD's I posted in Specktra, a couple of ppl suggested that my eyebrows are too close together and I should make the space bigger to bring out my features. Now you guys know I'm Persian and by default most of us have long and full eyebrows. My mom who's a certified asthetician (sp?), hair stylist and makeup artist has been threading my eyebrows since I was 16. She always says that my eyebrows look best if I kept the length and I trusted her. But now I wonder, what do you guys think I should do? I don't wanna loose my Persian look, lol! and I also don't wanna look too different so I'm not sure.

Here's the looks, let me know what you think.

Face
LW Portfolio - Light
Diorskin Nude - 022 I am so friggin tempted to go and get a full bottle of this!
Ben Nye Translucent powder
Cantaloupe blush
BB Nectar shimmer brick

Eyes
Cashflow p/p - base
Gorgeous Gold e/s - inner lid
OCC Lafayette p/m - lid
Espresso e/s - outer crease
Cork e/s - crease
Solar White e/s - highlight
US Stash 24/7 - lower lashline
LW Black Gold e/l - to liner

Lips
Nars Niagara l/s - love love love this!

March 26, 2010

This is the first nail polish I chose to wear out of my VNS haul. I've been waiting to order for Orly's Foil FX to be available at VNS so I can place and order and I just added more stuff to my haul, haha! I must say, Luxe is the most gorgeous gold nail polish yours truly has ever seen! The wait for my package was totally worth it. Honestly the finish is just amazing; it looks pretty much like shimmery molten metal on my nails. The gold is also on the neutral side, not too green or too yellow. The formula as always with Orly was excellent and even better than the rest of their polishes. I only wore one coat and achieved full opaque finish.

You guys should check this out, it's awesome!

March 26, 2010

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great week and start an amazing weekend. I've been having some stressful times in the office this week and yesterday especially was a rough day for me. I was so excited to get home and see my VNS (Victoria Nail Supply) package waiting for me at the door. I literally started jumping around the front door, lol! Obviously the first thing I did when I got inside was to rip the package open and take pictures of my goodies!

I'm a big fan of Color Club especially their neons as you guys might have heard me say (I've said it a million times, lol!). So I had to get some of those.


Left to right: Electric Coral, Explosive, Pucci-Licious

I was also super excited about the Orly Foil FX and Metal Chic so polishes from that collection were also part of my haul.


Left to right: Rage, Luxe, Glam Rock

Last but not list, who can forget about China Glaze Kaleidoscopes? I had to get three of those too!


Left to right: He's Going in Circles, It's My Turn, Spin Me Round

I will be wearing and swatching these beauties in the upcoming weeks, starting with Orly Luxe (see next post). I'm still super excited about my haul, hadn't done a big nail polish haul since October!

What is in your nail polish wishlist? Do you own any of these polishes? What do you think about them?

March 25, 2010

I did this sorta metallic look today and loved it! I've been feeling pretty uninspired lately so this was a nice change of events for me. The only thing is I wish I didn't put Coppering on my lower lashline; it makes me look sleep. Oh well we live and we learn!

I'm also trying out the Diorksin Nude sample I got yesterday. I got the shade 022 and it matches perfectly (not that you can tell coz I took the pics with flash). I love how this foundation feels on my skin. It truly feels nude. I'm very tempted to go and buy a full bottle but I'm on foundation nobuy till I finish at least one of the bottles I have laying about!

Let me know what you think of this look. I cannot believe it's already Friday!

Face
LW Portfolio - Light
Diorskin Nude Foundation - 022
Ben Nye Translucent Powder
Prim n Proper blush
Shell Pearl bp

Eyes
Rubenesque p/p - base
Chartreuse p/m - inner lid
Gold p/m - outer lid
MUFE #39 - outer lid and crease
Coppering e/s - crease
All That Glitters e/s - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Smashbox Heartbreaker l/l - to line

Lips
Naked l/l
Blankety l/s
Glamour for All l/s

March 25, 2010

Good morning everyone and happy Thursday! I'm excited about this weekend and the big Persian New Year party at my parents. I'm obviousely also excited about planing my makeup but haven't decided on it yet.

Since MAC's Art collection will be released next Thursday, I started compiling my "reasonable" wishlist so I don't go over budget. I always go to makeup counter/stores with a wishlist in hand. If I end up buying something that was not on myh wishlist or the trip to the beauty counter is random, I restrict myself with the next purchase. As of now I have a $50 gift card to MAC which I'm planing on using on Art collection (prob get 2 GPS and 1 pearlglide liner). Since technically I won't be spending much money I also want to get a Nars duo (Star Sailor, thanks to Michelle). I must admit there are times when I go completely over budget and become unreasonable but luckily that is not often.

How about you guys? Do you always plan ahead and have a fixed buget in mind or do you just throw your list out the windo the moment you enter MAC, Sephora or other beauty stores?

March 24, 2010

I'm in a funny mood today. It might have to do with the fact that I'm really annoyed with the weather these days. It was super cold yesterday with freezing rain yesterday and today it's warm and sunny. Tomorrow back to freezing rain! One doesn't know how to dress in this weather! Also, I'm hating my hair these days; it's not straight or wavy, it's in between! I'm having a hard time just leaving it as is.

Look of today is brought to you mainly by Stila's Jewel palette which apparently some ppl love and some others hate. I personally love! I find the shimmering "almost like water" quite intriguing. For my full review of this palette refer to this post. Let me know what you think of this look. Pinks and purples always put me in a happy mood.

Face
LW Portfolio - Light skin
MUFE HD - 118 (Flesh)
Ben Nye Translucent Powder
Nars Desire Blush

Eyes
Fresco Rose p/p - base
Stila Jewel Palette - pink and purple shades on lid and mid lid
Graphology e/s - outer lid
Poison Pen e/s - crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
UD 1999 24/7 - lower lashline
Beauty Marked e/s - with mm to line

Lips
Craving l/s

March 23, 2010

This is my first go with the Sugarpill stuff. Goldilux was an instant fave of mine so I thought I do a golden look. I like how the eyes turned out but it seems like lack of sleep is showing on my face in general. Maybe I should have worn a darker blush but I thought they eyes were shimmery enough that I didn't want to OD on the cheeks and eyes since I was going to work.

How's everyone's week going so far? It's been pretty chill around my house besides my usual lack of sleep. Hoping after this change of season is beyond us I can sleep again.
Face
LW Portfolio
Nars Sheer Glow foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye translucent powder
Sculpt
Otherwordly

Eyes
Cash Flow p/p - base
Annabelle Brown e/l - to cut crease and to line
Embark e/s - to blend the liner
Satin Taupe e/s - above crease
Sugarpill Goldilux p/m - lid
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Blonde's Gold p/m - tearduct
UD Bouron 24/7 - lower lashline

Lips
Naked l/l
Lollipop Lovin l/s
Sock Hope l/g

March 23, 2010

I received my highly anticipated Sugarpill Cosmetics package yesterday and thought to share my swatches and thoughts with you guys. I ordered directly from their website http://www.sugarpillshop.com/

I must say that this was a pleasant hauling experience from the get go. Amy the owner who goes by Shrinkle is super sweet, she thanked me on Twitter for my order and I received my package in less than a week (record time for Canada). I ordered three Chromalust Loose Eyeshadows in Goldilux, Junebug and Royal Sugar. It came to $44 shipping included. Here's a picture of everything:



Goldilux - is absolutely the best gold pigment I've ever laid my eyes on. This is coming from someone who's a big fan of gold in general and yet I find Golidlux quite unique. It has hints of bronze to it and is super shimmery and pretty....oh I cannot rave enough about this one. It looks gorgeous dry and wet.

Junebug - is a dark forest green with silver and black flecks mixed in. This is a stunning shade when used wet. I don't have a green quite like this in my collection. I cannot wait to do a smoldering green smokey eye with this!

Royal Sugar - as the name implies is a royal blue but what makes this one unique is the silver and blue sparkles that are very apparent when used wet. Another gorgeous shade.

These pigments are very finely milled and you might get a little bit of fall off as it's common with loose shadows in general. I did not experience any excessive fallout though. Junebug and Royal Sugar are more vibrant when used wet (with home made mixing medium), though Goldilux is still stunning dry. All colours apply smoothly and you don't need much to get an intense colour. One technique when using wet pigments is to set them with the same pigment but dry so you get a longer lasting colour. I find this technique works with chunkier pigments (like MAC Rose) as well as finely milled pigments like Sugarpill or OCC.

I also love the packaging, it's plastic container in a cylinder shape. The top is a screw on with Sugarpill logo imprinted on. Much like MAC pigments, there's no stiffer on these so you gotta be careful with them so you won't spill any. I find that the jars sit quite nicely amongst my MAC pigments. Like a nice happy family.

The only con besides Junbug and Royal Sugar needing to be used wet is that I noticed my Junbug pigment wasn't filled to the top like the other two. I don't know if that's cause they're sold by weight or not. But I will email Amy and ask her.


Overall, I'm very pleased with my order. Check out the next post for a look I did using Goldilux. I probably will place another order within the next month of so.

See below for product photo, swatches and comparisons.


Goldilux


Goldilux dry on the left, wet on the right


Left to right: MAC Rose Gold, MAC Gold, Sugarpill Goldilux and OCC Auric


Junebug


Junebug dry on the left, wet on the right


Left to right: Naked Cosmetics Ebony Stalk (green shade), Sugarpill Junebug


Royal Sugar


Royal Sugar dry on the left, wet on the right


Left to right: Sugarpill Royal Sugar, MAC Blue Flame MES

Have you guys tried anything from Sugarpill Cosmetics? What did you think of it? If you haven't tried their products, is there anything you're interested in?

March 22, 2010

Excuse my lame title. I was very excited to do a pink and brown combo today but I think I was blind and used Rubeneseque p/p instead of Fresco Rose! So I don't think the colours are as us vibrant as you know Rubenesque is more of a peachy gold than a pink. It was still ok though. I feel like my skin looks sorta sallow in the full face pics. It's probably because of the cloudy settings.

Hope you guys all survived Monday. Mine was rather stressful.

Face
LW Portfolio
Nars Sheer Glow foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye Translucent powder
Too Faced Sun Bunny
Nars Desire blush

Eyes
Rubenesque p/p - base
Sunset B. e/s - inner lid
MUFE #26 - outer lid
Bronze e/s - outer lid
Espresso e/s - crease
Pink Opal p/m - highlight
Wedge e/s - above crease
UD Bourbon 24/7 - lower lashline
Stila Bronze Smudge Pot - to line

Lips
In Synch l/l
St Germain l/s
She loves Candy l/g