October 20, 2009

I've been very drained emotionally lately and hence the lack of makeup posts. I should be over it soon and get back on track though. I slept in for much longer than I thought possible today (due to lack of sleep/stress last night) and then had only 3 minutes to do my face. That's when I thought about my quick routine. This is what I do when I don't have a lot of time:

1. Moisturizer face
2. Put on powder foundation (MUFE Duo Mat)
3. Wear my neutral eyebase (Painterly p/p)
4. Put on an overall shimmery champagne lid colour (Your Ladyship p/m)
5. Place a taupe or brown e/s in the crease and blend (either one of Copperplate, Smut, Cork or Mothbrown)
6. Line with a deep taupe liner (Clinique Smokey Gray gel liner), add mascara
7. Wear a brighter than usual blush (Love Thing mb)
8. Wear purpley pink lipstick (Up the Amp)

What is your quick routine like? What are some of the steps you'll be skipping and what are some of the steps that are still a "must" even in a hurry?

October 18, 2009

I know peach and gray are a lil bit unexpected colours to pair with each other, but I like to do things different sometimes and this is one example. I paired some OCC pigments with Cinderfella and added some matte black to add a lil dimension. Let me know what you think.

Also, if the weather permits (it's sunny), I will do my first picture tutorial this coming weekend. Is there any look you guys like to see in particular? Let me know otherwise I'll just chose a random one :D

Face
SSC NC30
MUFE Duo Mat 205
Cantaloupe blush

Eyes
Fresco Rose p/p - base
OCC Glisten p/m - inner lid
OCC Ironic p/m - outer lid
Black GPS - crease
Cinderfella MES - with mm crease and lower lashline
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Ego e/s - tearduct
Blacktrack f/l
Feline e/k
Lancome Hypnose

Lips
Marquise D' l/s
Live n Dye l/g

October 18, 2009

I know pretty much everyone has this nail polish, but I don't think I've ever swatched it on my blog. I was wearing it today so I thought why not. I was also feeling better physically so I also did my makeup (see next post).

I like For Audrey as I think it's a nice blur green that will pretty much flatter any skintone. I do have a problem with the formula, I think it's too thin. I think I need to get some polish thinner and add it to most of my China Glaze. Does any one have any specific recommendation?

This is 2 coats of For Audrey, second day wear:

October 17, 2009


Picture from IMATS website

I'm still feeling under the weather so I've been home resting all day. I guess even though my weekend is ruined at least I don't have to take sick days next week (when I will be extremely busy at work). The only productive thing I did all day was to finally book my ticket to the IMATS show this November. The show is on November 21 and 22 but I will only be going the first day. You can book your tickets now from Makeup Bag:

http://www.makeupmag.com/featured/id/388/

I spent some time browsing the website and am so excited about the exhibitors! I've been meaning to try the Obsessive Compulsive Lips Tars and as they are present, this will be a great opportunity. I've also heard great things about Yaby eyeshadows, Kryolan transulecnet powder and Ben Nye pencil liners. And of course Makeup Forever will also be there and you know how I've fallen in love with their products. I need to start putting a wishlist together so I don't overspend. Is anyone else going to IMATS Toronto? Please do let me know I would love to meet other bloggers and makeup enthusiasts.

Oh and before I forget, I posted my first contest here. If you live in Canada, it will be a great opportunity to win an awesome Harajuku Lovers fragrance set. I think that's about it for me now. I gotta go back to bed and nurse this flue :/

October 15, 2009

I'm not feeling very well today, I hope I'm not starting the flue but it def seems like I am. I've been on site inspection since 7 am (at a town 1 hour outside of Ottawa), so that hasn't helped. I drove to the mall after I was done to take a quick look at MAC's Holiday collection, Magic, Mirth & Mischief.

I didn't spend too much time at the counter coz I was feeling sick and also there's this new girl there who was being annoying. I go to to this counter a lot so everyone knows me. They know I have a shit load of makeup and they know that I always come in when new collections are being released and swatch everything before buying. But I guess this girl didn't know...she just stood there going like "ooh, you should get this one" or "ooo, I'm wearing this one", or "oooo, I got those two for my mom"...she just wouldn't stop talking! Seriously, ppl won't buy if you're so desperate. I know I was already in a bad mood but she was not helping.

Anyway, this is my two cents:

Lipsticks: There are four shades in this year's collection, one being perm (Pervette). The other three are all Lustres (not my favourite finish). Utter Fun was the only one that looked pretty to me, pretty but not unique. maybe a less pigmented Girl About Town. I tried Surprise Me on as I thought it didn't look like any lipstick I had and then I knew why: it didn't suite me. I need to be super careful with peach tones, 90% of the time they don't look good on me at all.

MES: So, these were not as great as my beloved Style Black MES. Not only that, they have a half crescent thingy that's just chunky messy glitter. Honestly I don't know what you would do with the glitter half. The most pigmented of the bunch was Devil May Care, a gorgeous lavender purple. It swatched beautifully and true to pot. However, I have enough purple and lavender shades so I didn't get it. But if you don't it's a nice shade to own. Blue Sorcery is also a nice one, but not as pigmented as I would like. I'm a huge fan of teals but didn't find this one terribly unique. The other three were very dupe-able.

I didn't get to swatch anything else though, I started to feel very hot and dizzy so I just left. I think I will go back on the weekend to pick up an eyeshadow palette for my mom. The purple one looked really pretty.

Sorry if this wasn't the best review I've done. This is what happens when you go to the counter tired and sick :/ Hope everyone else enjoys their hauling and hope that I still helped in a small way. See below for the few swatches I made:

MES

Left to right (solid side only)
Top row - It's a Miracle, Blue Sorcery, Mayhem
Bottom row - Devil May Care, Midnight Madness, Under your Spell

Lipsticks

Left to right: Surprise Me, Total Wow, Pervette, Utter Fun

October 14, 2009

I was contacted by Matchstick which is a Canadian word of mouth company and given the opportunity to host a contest on my blog. I thought why not! It would be a great way to appreciate you guys, my readers, who take time out of your busy daily lives to check out my blog. The winner will be receiving a Harajuku Lovers Fragrance price valued at $250 CAD.



To enter: you need to be a subscriber of this blog. Please leave a comment telling me what your favourite type of fragrance is (e.g., fruity, floral, musky,...). Please remember to leave your email address in the comment so I have a way of contacting you. The winner will be selected at random.

This contest ends on October 21, 2009 at 11:50 pm and is only open to residence of Canada (excluding Quebec)

Please take a moment to read the contests rules and regulations. And good luck everyone!

Official Rules & Regulations

The Contest will run from October 14, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. (noon) [ET] to October 21, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. [ET].

The contest is sponsored by Coty Canada Inc. and Matchstick Inc. (the “Sponsor”). The contest is hosted by Shadowy lady (“The Host”).

1. To Enter:

No Purchase Necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Limit of one (1) entry per household, per person, per email address.

Enter online:
Go to http://shadowylady.blogspot.com during the Contest Period, complete the fulfill contest entry specifics and submit as instructed. Any attempt or suspected attempt to enter more than once shall be deemed as tampering and will void all of your entries. Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed or entry methods not authorized by these rules will void all entries affected by such methods and shall also be deemed as tampering and will void all of your entries.

General Conditions of Entry:
By entering this contest, all entrants consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information by Sponsor and Host for the purposes of running the contest or for any other purpose to which entrants consent. Once submitted, entries become the exclusive property of The Host and The Sponsor and will not be returned. Personally identifiable information received will be used by the Host only to verify eligibility, ship samples and award prizes. Upon completion of the contest, The Host will destroy any and all entries and personally identifiable information for all contestants. All personal information received by the Sponsor will only be for the purposes of fulfilling the prize and collected, used and stored in accordance with its Privacy Policy, located at: www.matchstick.ca/privacy.htm

2. Eligibility:

To enter and be eligible to win, an entrant must be a legal resident of Canada (excluding Quebec) who is over the age of majority in their province or territory of residence. Employees of or those residing with an employee of Coty Canada Inc, the Sponsor or Host, their agents, representatives, parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and dealers, advertising and promotional agencies, sponsors, suppliers of prizes, materials or services related to this contest, including the independent judging organization are not eligible to enter this contest.

This contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations.

Each entrant is only eligible to win one (1) prize during the Contest Period.

3. Prizes to be awarded:

Entrants are eligible to win one (1) Harajuku Lovers Fragrance prize packages with an approximate retail value of $250.00 each.

The Sponsor reserves the right in the event that a Prize or any component of the Prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason, to substitute another Prize of equal or greater value, without liability.

Any costs or expenses incurred by the winner in claiming or using his/her prize will be the responsibility of the winner. Winner is responsible for all taxes and expenses which are not included in the prize description above.

In the event of a dispute, entries shall be deemed to be submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization (e.g. business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. Illegible entries, bulk drop-offs, mechanical reproductions or facsimile entries are ineligible.

4. Winners

A winner for the contest will be selected by The Host and announced October 22, 2009 on or around 12:00 p.m. EST.

Selected entrants will be contacted by telephone and/or email at the Host’s discretion. Only the selected entrants will be notified. Before being awarded the prize, selected entrants must first correctly answer without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a time-limited mathematical skill-testing question with the Sponsor. If an eligible entrant is selected but cannot be reached after four (4) attempts and the skill-testing question is not administered within 20 business days of the selection, the selected entry will be deemed void and an alternate entrant may be selected.

Only upon signing and returning the Declaration and Release Form described below in Rule 5 and correctly answering the skill-testing question, will a selected eligible entrant be declared an official winner.

5. Release Forms:

The selected entrants of a prize will be required to sign and return, within the time stipulated by the Sponsor, a full release and indemnity form (“Declaration and Release Form”) stating that he/she has read and understood these Official Rules and Regulations (“Official Rules”), grants all consents and authorizes the Sponsor to broadcast, publish and disseminate his/her name, address, photograph, likeness, sobriquet and voice, in connection with any promotion or publicity, and/or for general news, entertainment and information purposes relating to this Contest at no additional compensation, beyond the awarding of the prize. Selected entrants must also agree to accept the prize as offered.

The Declaration and Release Form also releases The Sponsor, The Host, its affiliates, subsidiaries, related companies, and all their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, representatives and agents, successors and assigns from and against any and all liability, claims of damages and causes of action, of any kind whatsoever, whether at law or in equity, and including but not limited to death, personal injury and loss or damage to property, that the winner or any of the representatives, heirs, next of kin or assignees (collectively, “Representatives”) may have or which may hereinafter accrue to the winner’s Representatives as a result directly or indirectly from their participation in the contest or receipt or use or acceptance of the prize.

In the event of non-compliance with these requirements (as applicable) or with these Official Rules, or if prize notification is returned undeliverable, Sponsor shall have the right to disqualify the potential winner, and select an alternate potential winner and shall be fully and completely released and discharged from any liability or responsibility in this regard.

6. Limitations of Liability:

Neither The Sponsor nor The Host will be liable for: a) any incomplete, incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, whether caused by the Contest Website users or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest, or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of entries; b) the theft, destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries; c) any problems with, or technical malfunctions of, telephone networks or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, viruses or bugs; d) any failure of any email to be received by or from Sponsor for any reason including but not limited to traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof, interrupted or unavailable networks; e) damage to a participant’s or other person’s system occasioned by participation or downloading of materials in this Contest; f) late, delayed, damaged, misdirected, destroyed, lost, illegible, incomplete, incorrect, fraudulent, stolen, postage-due or wrongly addressed entries which will be deemed void.

7. Right to Terminate:

The Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion to terminate, suspend or modify this Contest, without notice, at any time should i) any electronic messages or any other materials used in this Contest be tampered with, mutilated, altered, forged, reproduced, not legitimately obtained; or ii) other types of fraud are suspected; or ,iii) entries are illegible or contain or reflect printing, production or other errors; or iv) virus, bugs, technical failures, human, printing or distribution errors or any other cause beyond the control of the Sponsor corrupt the administration, security, safety, fairness, or proper conduct of any element of this Contest as described in these Official Rules. Without limiting the foregoing, if, for any reason, the contest is not capable of running as originally planned should any error, whether human, electronic or otherwise, or any other event interfere with its proper conduct as contemplated by these Official Rules, Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the online portion of the contest and conduct the draw from all other previously received eligible entries.

8. Miscellaneous:

By entering, entrants agree to abide by the Official Rules and agree that the decisions of The Sponsor and The Host are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest. The prizes must be accepted as awarded and no transfer or substitution of the prize, whether for cash or otherwise, will be permitted except as expressly provided in these Rules or at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Prize may not be exactly as shown on Promotion publicity or promotional materials. The Sponsor reserves the right to substitute this prize with a prize of equal or greater value if for any reason the prize cannot be awarded as contemplated in these Official Rules.

Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify, from this Contest and any future contest, sweepstakes or other Contest conducted by Sponsor, any individual that it finds or believes to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or Contest Website; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Selecting Winners

*Please select one of the two contest types applicable to your contest to copy and paste into your Rules & Regulations under 4. Winners

Random Draws

A random draw will occur on or about , 2009 on or around 12:00 p.m. EST at .

Odds of being selected/winning are based on the number of entries submitted. Selected entrants will be contacted by telephone and/or email at the Host’s and Sponsor’s discretion. Only the selected entrants will be notified.

Judged

October 14, 2009

This is my other OPI Suede purchased about three weeks ago, it's the first time I remembered to wear it though. This is what happens when you have too many nail polishes. Anyway, I don't own the regular version of this nail polish , but from what I remember it was a dark blue gray while the suede version is more of a gunmetal shade. It's pretty much the same as You Don't know Jacques in terms of discrepancy between the colours of regular and suede versions. I love the look of this polish though. This is only one coat and it's opaque enough for me. The application was a breeze and it dried super fast. I'm really digging the suedes that I bought.

Here's a pic: