I did it! I posted every day for an entire month. I didn't announce that I had set a goal to do so, but it was something I wanted to achieve. I neglect this blog too often, and I wanted to show it some love. And now, it's time to show my readers some love.



I'm going to be giving away 12 polishes from my favorite brand, Deborah Lippmann. DL was one of the first polish brands I started collecting, and I just love her stuff. I'm rarely disappointed with her releases, and the formula is pretty consistent throughout the brand.

Stronger, Across the Universe, Va Va Voom, Let's Go Crazy, Ruby Red Slippers, Cleopatra in New York  Naked, Careless Whisper,Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Supermodel, On the Beach, Call Me Irresponsible

Here's what you need to know:

• This giveaway is open to current  GFC and Bloglovin followers only. If you currently follow me via different means, send me an email


• To enter, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite polish brand is and why


• Open to U.S. and Canada residents

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 



Because shipping polish overseas has become more difficult as of late, I wanted to also give something away that will be easier to ship internationally.

Urban Decay Vice 2 palette

More things to know:

• You're welcome to enter both giveaways, but you do not need to leave two comments


• Only the palette giveaway is open internationally


• Both giveaways will close in two weeks

a Rafflecopter giveaway




I think that's it! If you have any questions, please contact me via email.



Good luck!

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 wanted to do something fun to get me excited about blogging again. I debated between Swatch Dump Sundays and Sandwich Saturdays for a while and decided that I'd have more fun making jelly sammies every week. So here's the first installment - two of my favorite polishes in one awesome mani.

w/ OttLite

w/ flash

w/ flash

This is 2 coats Deep Violet, 1 coat Burnout, 1 coat Deep Violet, and 1 final coat Burnout, with tc.



Because of its milky base, Burnout has a tendency to lighten whatever it's layered over. This can sometimes lead to a cloudy mani. I tried to avoid that by sponging Burnout to get more shimmer and less base.



I'm obsessed with Verity Deep Violet, and if you don't already own it, I suggest you go to Amazon right now and get it. I have a post with it swatched on its own coming up soon.



Urban Decay Burnout has been long discontinued, but the shimmer is that same amber to green shimmer that  is pretty ubiquitous at the moment. I'm sure you can recreate this look with something similar.

This is actually from yesterday. I'm planning a Gryffindor look to wear later tonight for the HP7 midnight showing. Yeah, I'm a nerd. :] Anyway, here's a bright look that totally reminds me of grapes.

I'm currently cataloguing my np stash in a spreadsheet and stumbled across this beauty. I have no clue when I got it, but I'm glad I did. It's such a beautiful color. I think this was 2 coats...maybe 3?

As I slowly work my way through my untried/neglected shadows, I've finally come to terms with something. I love looking at green and blue eyeshadows, but wearing them makes me nervous as hell. I always spend way too much time figuring out what to pair them with and usually end up just applying a bit to my lower lash line. No wonder my blue and green palettes look brand new!



No more, I say! I'm going to (hopefully) make all these shadows work for me...