I was instantly drawn to the Blue Sepia palette because I'm a neutral hoor. Plus, half the shades are matte, so it obviously had to come home with me. I've been using it for a couple weeks now, so I think I know how I feel about it.

128 (satin), 28 (matte), 152 (shimmer), Petrol Blue, 04 (matte), 17 (matte), 127 (satin)

Petrol Blue is supposed to be the star of the palette, but I actually haven't used it on my eyes yet. I think it would make a nice pop of color on the lower lash line, but I wouldn't wear on my lid because it's a bit too garish. Anyway, onto the swatches.

swatched on bare skin

I already owned 28 and 128 before purchasing this palette, so it's no surprise that those two are my favorites out of the bunch.. I've used all the shades except for Petrol Blue more than once, and they all blend really nicely and last all day over my NARS primer. The texture on these is pretty decent. Soft and a little powdery, but no fall out. 04 swatches kind of patchy, but it's actually a nice, buildable black.



Overall, I don't regret the purchase but would probably just repurchase my favorites individually rather than buying the whole palette again.



Here's a super simple look I did with this palette.

It's a little unhealthy how much  I love Deborah Lippmann mini sets. There has yet to be a set I've been disappointed with, and the Starlight set is no exception.

I mean, look at them. They're all glitters!

All of these swatches have 1 coat of Deborah Lippmann Addicted to Speed. The glitters that could be layered were layered over one coat of  Illamasqua Boosh and two coats of NARS Ecume.






Deborah Lippmann Blinded by the Light is a clear base with silver and holo sequins and microglitter.











Deborah Lippmann Champage Supernova is a peachy pink base with the same glitter as Blinded by the Light. This is perfection over white. I bet it would look even better over a white jelly.










Deborah Lippmann Cosmic Love is a pink jelly base with gold, purple, and pink holo hexes. Definitely my favorite glitter of the bunch. I can't wait to make a jelly sammich with this!










Deborah Lippmann Fantastic Voyage is a blue jelly base with gold, blue, and silver hexes. There is also some blue microglitter in this one. Another love for me.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Lost in Space is shimmery blue base with holo hexes. This dries matte and lumpy, but with some patience and some top coat, Lost in Space looks absolutely stunning.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Twilight Tone is a black shimmery base with holo hexes. The black version of Lost in Space. Same story here. It takes a little manipulation to get it to not look lackluster.





The formula of the glitter bombs was what you would expect from a polish packed with glitter. A bit clumpy, and they need to be dabbed on rather than painted on. Blinded by the Light and Champagne Supernova were less dense than Fantastic Voyage and Cosmic Love.



The matte shades were a bit tricky to apply because they dried really quickly, and the glitter has a tendency to clump. None of these are especially top coat hungry.




The Deborah Lippmann Starlight set retails for $49 and is available at deborahlippmann.com

I'm slowly rekindling my relationship with makeup (as in, I'm actually wearing it instead of just buying it), and I wanted to share my thoughts on the products I'm using. Seeing as this site began as a beauty blog, I thought I'd take a step back and actually do a post on something makeup related.This look isn't from today, but I'm basically wearing the same look, so let's go with it.



I was extra excited when I found out that Marc Jacobs was releasing a beauty line. His bags are gorgeous, so why wouldn't his makeup be just as amazing? While I do love some of the things I picked up, I was generally underwhelmed by the products I've tried.



























Genius Gel ($48): I really like the finish and the texture. Little to no transfer or
fading as well. I applied with The Face brush and got good (but light)
coverage with one pump. Not HG, but I'm happy to add it to my
collection.



Remedy Concealer ($39): The color selection sucks, in my opinion, but
I experienced no creasing all day, so that's good. Really great
coverage, and the cooling tip is a nice touch. I'll finish my pen, but I
won't repurchase.



Shameless Bold Blush ($30): Quite pigmented, and I like the
luminous sheen. However, I think there are better blushes out there,and
I'm happy I only purchased one.



Style Eye-con ($42): Nice pigmentation
and blendability, but I don't like his concept with these. I won't use
the lightest color in any of these trios because they don't look good on
me. Seems like a waste of money. Won't repurchase.



Lash Lifter ($26): Total meh for me, but ymmv. My lashes suck, and I need Jesus in a bottle for them to look decent.



I have a separate review coming up for the lip products I picked up, and of course, more polish swatches.

Finally! Urban Decay is doing full sized (well, kinda - they're 9ml) nail polish again. I'm not even annoyed that both of the shades they released are dupeable. I hope this is just the beginning of an expansive range of awesome shades.



Anyway, today I have an Urban Decay Vice swatch and comparison for you.

2 coats

Urban Decay Vice is a deep purple with red and blue microshimmer. It's a really gorgeous color. The application was a breeze, and Vice has great opacity. You could get away with one coat, if you're careful.





For this comparison, I pulled the first two deep purples that came to my head - NARS Purple Rain and Illamasqua Baptiste. In hindsight, I probably should have chosen cheaper nail polishes. If you're looking for cheaper alternatives, Zoya Yasmeen and China Glaze Let's Groove look pretty close based on bottle comps.

2 coats each of Illamasqua Baptiste, Urban Decay Vice, and NARS Purple Rain

Purple Rain and Vice are quite similar, except Vice has a slight dusty quality to it. Baptiste is darker and cooler than the others. I'd say, if you already own Purple Rain, you can skip Vice. However, Baptiste and Vice are different enough to own both, in my opinion.



Urban Decay Vice retails for $15 and is available at Ulta.

I've decided to take a new approach to my stash chronicles. To better benefit you (and me), I've decided to take better, closeup bottle pictures of my entire stash. Of course, this is a project that will probably be never-ending, but I think it will eventually be a great resource. I also hope to have everything swatched one day...



Of course it's easier to start small, so here are my relatively teeny Illamasqua and NARS collections

Illamaqua Milf, Nomad, Muse, Rampage

Illamasqua Jo'Mina, Force (faded), Phallic, Baptiste

Illamasqua Load, Purity, Lament, Collide, Stance

NARS Pokerface, Jungle Red, Purple Rain

NARS Bad Influence, Desperado, Zulu, Galion

NARS Ecume, Orgasm, Versailles, Kismet

NARS Candy Darling, Arabesque, Chinatown, Saratoga

My lovely friend Lakeisha, of Refined and Polished, invited me to do a guest post on her blog. It features this summery mani:






Check out the details here!

Dearest Francois,


I love your polishes. Really, I do. When your Spring 2011 collection was released, and Desperado showed up at my door, I was so excited! When I put it on, that excitement was crushed. Totally unflattering. I didn't even bother posting it on my blog, can you believe it? Well, fast forward a few months to your Summer 2011 collection. You decided on a bright white and *cries* a gold. I'm not sure if you know this, Francois, but I have a serious aversion to gold. Nevertheless, I still placed an order for them because I love your polishes. I was a little apprehensive when they arrived. I mean, after the Spring debacle, who would blame me? Fortunately, Ecumé was not a total let down.



Opaque in two coats, it really is a beautiful white. But that's just it - it's white! I'd totally sing a different tune if it were a one-coater, but it's not. I am still greatful that you were so kind to release something that I will actually wear, though. Even if it's just a white.




Kismet, on the other hand, brought back the trauma I had only recently recovered from (via the Spring debacle), and once again I find myself asking why? Why, Francois, do you insist on crushing my dreams? On me, Kismet is 3 coats of disaster and mayhem. There are no other words. None.



I know these shades must look good on someone, but since that someone is not me, I humbly request that you stop coming up with these shades.



Forever (or until you release another ugly gold) Yours,

Lola B. of BurbBeauty.com



P.S. Galion is a huge step in the right direction!





I'm glad I got that off my chest!



Love it? Hate? Let me know how you feel about this collection.

This is a beautiful polish. I don't remember any application issues, but it is very sheer. I do remember that the wear was great. I think I wore it for almost a week with minimal tip wear and no chipping.

I'm not really the colored liner type, but Leticia, of Cosmetics Aficionado, posted a couple looks that inspired me to give it a go. Tightlining allowed me to keep the definition around my eyes that I always seem to lose when using colored liners.



NARS Ondine (lid)

NARS Grenadines (crease)

MAC Sketch (crease, lower ll)

Aromaleigh Jolie (liner)

Diorshow Blackout

Well first off, I got a lightbox. I wanted to DIY it, but with my luck, I'd probably sever an artery or at least get a major papercut (aka I'm lazy). I got my kit here. Not too shabby. I don't know what I'm doing with it yet and didn't have time to fiddle with it for too long, so these are the results. Next time I'll try to uh, focus.

I'm not sure why I've fallen into the habit of doing my nails at night now. The sun is so much more friendly to polish pictures. Anywho, this polish is gorgeous in even the worst lighting. ATU has a navy blue jelly base with green and blue hexagonal sequins and bright blue glitter. The base is pigmented enough for this to be worn alone (opaque at 3 coats on its own), but still allows the fabulous glitter and sequins to show through. LOVE! Without Zulu underneath, the navy blue base is much more obvious.

I've finally figured out the perfect lighting to take pictures in, so of course I'm in the process of photographing my entire stash. Here is my little NARS blush collection.







The two pictured above are Cactus Flower and Crazed