Who loves free nail polish?

Unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard of the current Zoya promo.  If you have an account with Zoya already (you always need to make an account before they release their promos) you can go to the promo code section and see one for a 'buy one, get two free' code.  You pay for one $8 polish and shipping (comes out to around $14) and you get $24 worth of polish.  Woohoo!  

Zoya Armor Top Coat, $8 at zoya.com: Now what I did (I was very proud of this idea) was get a top coat and 2 polishes.  Zoya is on the eco-friendlier side of polishes, and the polish tends not to work as well with chemical heavy top coats, like my favorite, Seche Vite.  I get average wear time with that top coat.  However, I hear that with the Zoya top coat you can get like 7-9 days before it starts chipping, which is AMAZING.  So I got that.






Zoya Roxy, $8 at zoya.com, Zoya Neeka, $8 at zoya.com: As far as nail polish goes, I got Roxy and Neeka.  Roxy is a sheer red-toned purple base with bright purple glitter.  I have a ton of glitter nail polishes, but none that are medium berries, so obviously I had to buy this.  I like sheer jelly glitters, because they make the glitter seem to float in the polish.  The deepness of the berry gives it a little more maturity than the average glitter, and all the glitter makes it great in a Disney princess kind of way.  And Neeka is a greyed amethyst with subtle red duochrome shimmer and bright gold glitter.  It actually reminds me of Katherine of Aragon by Rescue Beauty Lounge, with it's dusty lavender base with glitter.  I love that the base here is such a soft, pretty, romatic/Jane Austen-approved color, but the red duochrome and gold glitter add a glam, modern twist.




On a totally random note, I was thinking about what to wear to a summer wedding the other day.  And then I realized that other people probably have the same question, so I thought I'd mention it.

J. Crew Arabelle Silk Chiffon Dress, $225 at jcrew.com: J. Crew is the source for wedding/bridesmaid dresses.  I love this little coral number.  The ruching/draping on the bodice is very flattering, as are the cinched waist and sweetheart neckline, and the a-line skirt hides any sins.  You could take this all sweet with a white satin ribbon around the waist and nude peep toe platforms with pearl earrings, or you could take it a little edgier and do a dark grey patent leather belt and peep toe platforms with a statement cuff bracelet.  Either way, it's demure enough for a wedding but still fun enough to make that open bar work for you.




Images via zoya.com, jcrew.com.

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Review: Aveeno Anti-Fatigue Eye Treatment

Yes, I bought an eye cream.  I am barely 20, and I bought an anti-aging piece of skincare.  I feel very silly.  


I decided to pick up an eye cream because I keep reading these articles about how the younger you start doing the whole anti-aging thing, the better head start you have on it later.  I like that idea.  Also I looked really tired the other morning so it was kind of a compulsive thing.


My under-eye issues aren't really that serious, but here they are: I have slight puffiness (not really bags, just a little swelling if I don't get enough sleep), nasty dark circles (I am horrible at sleeping), and dry/irritated skin from scrubbing mascara off my lashes and the like.  So not huge problems, but enough to make me seek out an eye cream.


I wandered around CVS for a while and finally settled on this Aveeno Anti-Fatigue Eye Treatment, which you can get for $9.34 at ulta.com.  I picked this one because it was cheap and because Aveeno is relatively natural/won't irritate my skin.  Also the packaging is cute, and I like the rollerball idea. 




Here's the product spiel:

Aveeno Smart Essential is a unique line harnessing the power of Active Naturals antioxidant southernwood extract in formulas to cleanse, nourish, protect and treat stressed skin so you can look beautiful every day. Recommended by dermatologists for over 60 years, Aveeno combines the best of nature and science to reveal the natural beauty of your skin. Aveeno uses select natural ingredients because of their advanced benefits; Aveeno calls them Active Naturals, natural ingredients uniquely formulated to deliver visible results.
Great, healthy looking skin begins with a refreshed outlook. Lack of sleep, free-radicals and a hectic lifestyle can result in dark circles and puffiness. Formulated with antioxidant southernwood extract, Smart Essentials anti-fatigue eye treatment hydrates and infuses under eyes with vitamins and antioxidants so you'll look and feel replenished.
Smart skincare that knows what your skin needs and what it doesn't because:



It keeps the good in


Infuses your delicate under-eye skin with antioxidant southernwood extract and Vitamins A, C & E in a formula to combat dark circles


Hydrates to help immediately brighten eye area


De-puffs under eye area by massaging with a cooling roller-ball

Directions
Rinse with water to remove. Shake well and gently roll under the eye from the inner corner to the outer corner, in the morning and at night.




What on earth is southernwood?  A tree that only grows in the South?  Confusion.  Anyways, the product.  The tube is about 3 inches long and made of a sturdy, relatively nice feeling plastic.  The product comes out through a rollerball that you roll across the under-eye area.

The product itself is translucent, with a thin lotion feeling.  It feels cool and soothing going on the skin, and absorbs quickly without leaving any sticky or oily residue.  And the smell!  It smells FANTASTIC, a little mango-y, a little floral--very tropical and tangy and delicious.

So, I wanted this to address 3 problems: under-eye circles, puffiness, and dryness/irritation.  As far as under-eye circles, I can't say this makes a huge difference.  My circles have faded a bit, but it would take a miracle to eradicate them.  So I'd say it's a 6/10 on that front.  The cooling rollerball helps fight puffiness, and I have noticed that my eyes do look a little less swollen in the morning, so 7/10.  But where it's the best is with dryness and irritation.  The area under my eyes is usually red and dry.  This product gets rid of the dryness and makes my skin feel so soft and happy, so it's no longer red or irritated as well.  That means my concealer goes on more evenly and overall I look more awake, so 9/10 on that front.


All in all I'd give this an 8/10.  I don't have looks of puffiness or fine lines to deal with, I really just want moisture and calming effects, and this totally address those needs.  Plus it's affordable, easy to use and carry around, and it smells great.

Image via drugstore.com.

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LUSH Head Case

Confession: I am a total LUSH junkie.  If you don't know LUSH, it's an eco-friendly/natural body shop.  You'll be able to smell it down the block.  They're most famous for their soaps and ball bombs/bubble bars, but since I hate solid soap and I don't take bathes, I've been struggling to find something for me at LUSH.  I really wanted to like something from the store, since I love their brand mission and their products smell amazing.

Well, I found four new favorite things!  Right now, LUSH has 3 limited edition 'Head Case' sets for sale.  They're sets of 4 hair products, each with three sample size products and one full size solid shampoo bar, and they're all just under $24.  There's a Volume & Shine box (which I got), a Protect & Nourish box (meant for curly/frizzy hair) and a Balance & Repair box (for damaged hair).


The Volume & Shine box has a 3.4 ounce tub of Marilyn deep conditioner, which is about an $8.50 value (look at me doing math), a 1.6 ounce tub of Big shampoo, a $3.20ish value, a 3.3 ounce bottle of Veganese conditioner, a $5.25 value, and a full size Total Shine solid shampoo bar, which retails for $10.  So that's about a $27 value.  It's not an amazing deal, but it is a good chance to try out a ton of LUSH hair products and find out if any of them work for you.


So here's the Marilyn deep conditioner and the Big shampoo.  Marilyn was the one thing that I was least excited about.  It's a deep conditioner and brightening treatment for blondes.  I am a natural blonde, but I dye my hair for a reason.  I most certainly do not want a mask that makes me blonde.  So I did a little Googling, and it turns out that this can lighten you a little/add a few golden tones if you have actual blonde hair, but on my dyed dark hair it won't do anything.  It's packed full of chamomile, olive and linseed oils, and a bunch of citrus oils and juices.  It has a very thin, goopy consistency that made it hard to get out of the pot, and smells like olive oil with a hint of lemon.  Now, LUSH doesn't use silicones, which are what make your hair feel all slippery and smooth with normal conditioners and masks.  So this may not feel very effective--it really feels like runny lotion.  But once your hair dries it does add a lot of shine and softness.  The smell lingers pleasantly, and my hair feels happy, so I'm pleased with it.  I probably wouldn't purchase the full size just because I don't want lightening agents anywhere near my hair, but it is a lovely conditioner.  Big shampoo is my favorite product from this box.  It also looks the weirdest.  It actually looks like a salt scrub in the tub, and it honestly smells like laundry detergent to me (very cottony and clean).  I stared at it for a while in the shower before I could work up the courage to use it.  You need about a nickel sized amount, and you rub it vigorously into very wet hair.  It lathers up a lot, and the salt kind of melts away, leaving your hair and scalp feeling very refreshed.  I was a little scared of the idea of washing my hair with a shampoo that has salt and salt water and seaweed infusion in it, since my hair does not do beach hair well, but this stuff is MAGICAL.  It makes my hair feel so soft and look so shiny, and gives it a TON of volume.  I have thick, flat, normal/not-oily hair, and this manages to add texture while still making my hair feel clean but not dried out.  I imagine it would be wonderful for oily, thin or limp hair.  The only downside is that Big isn't cheap (the full size tub is $23), but this is a once or twice a week shampoo.  It would be very drying it used on a daily basis, since it's meant to strip all the product residue out of your hair.  That means even though it ain't cheap, it will last you a long while.




Here are Veganese conditioner and Ultimate Shine solid shampoo bar.  Veganese is a 100% vegan conditioner (no lanolin), and is full of rosemary, lavender, and seaweed infusion.  It's a pale creamy yellow with the consistency of thin lotion, and smells like rosemary and lavender.  The herbal smell doesn't linger long, however.  Again, since this has no silicones it doesn't feel like it's doing much in the shower, and it certainly won't work out any stubborn tangles.  This is LUSH's lightest conditioner, so it's great for keeping your hair from getting weighed down when you want a lot of volume.  I have dry ends, and this is a little on the light side for me.  It made my hair really soft and shiny and happy, but my ends were still a little parched.  I think Veganese could be great for girls with thin hair that's easily weighed down.  Ultimate Shine shampoo bar is my second LUSH shampoo bar.  They're these little hockey pucks of concentrated solid shampoo, and once you get used to using them they are AMAZING.  I like them for traveling, since you can put them in your carry-on, and they'll never spill all over your luggage, plus they're so much lighter than a bottle of shampoo.  Plus, they last forever.  My only issue is storage, since these need to dry completely before being put into any, or they'll basically melt onto whatever surface you put them on.  The Ultimate Shine bar has glitter (?!), violet leaf, gardenia extract, elemi tree oil, and smells just like eucalyptus to me.  The scent doesn't last, however, and neither does the glitter, thankfully.  Ultimate Shine lathers up really nicely, and leaves my hair feeling clean and soft.  It doesn't add texture or body, but it does get rid of any excess oil without stripping hair dry.  My hair is naturally very shiny, so I can't say if it adds shine.




You can only get these sets in store, so hop over to your local lush now!

Overall I'd give this set an A-/B+.  I'd give Big an A+, since it's possibly my favorite shampoo of all time, and Ultimate Shine a B+ for being a good, dependable (if not mindblowing) shampoo.  I'd give Veganese an A-, because even though it's not great for me I think it's still a great conditioner for most people, and Marilyn gets a B for being a decent deep conditioner.

Images via amazon.com, beautyjunkielondon.com.

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Beauty Cravings

I'm in the middle of this mental battle with myself over whether or not to buy a window AC unit.  My apartment doesn't have AC, and it's been in the 90s in Boston and crazy humid and I kind of want to die.  GAH.  Let's look at pretty makeup.

TanTowel Classic Self-Tan Towelette for Fair to Medium, $24 at sephora.com, Essie polish in Mint Candy Apple, $3.75 at amazon.com: Guys, I want to be tan.  I really do.  But my Scottish-English-German heritage wants to be all 'I burn immediately once you step outside and will only maybe after months of constant sun exposure turn a slightly darker shade of brown.'  It ain't gonna happen the natural way.  Also I'm really, really paranoid about skin cancer (REALLY PARANOID).  So I'm more of a fake tanner.  But it's really difficult to find good self-tanners that don't streak, turn you orange, smell weird, and last more than a day.  I usually use Jergens, which is fine, but it takes forever and it's really easy to do unevenly.  Someone recommended these TanTowel things, and I have to say, I'm intrigued.  They're these little towels soaked in fake tan, and you basically rub them all over and let them dry for a few minutes.  You get 10 half-body sheets for $24, which isn't cheap but isn't terrible.  The reviews were all really positive.  Maybe I'll treat myself to these...And what goes with tan skin better than funky nail polish colors?  My friend just bought Essie Mint Candy Apple, and I am NOT a blue or green polish girl, but I want this color.  It's like a light Tiffany blue.  It's a pastel, but it's edgy, and it looks soooo good with a tan.




Images via sephora.com, amazon.com.

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MUFE Aqua Liner and Tarte LipSurgence Stain

I've just realized how close my work is to Sephora.  Which is dangerous.  I'm putting myself on a shopping embargo as of today.  However I do have two beauty products to talk about...


Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner, $23 at sephora.com: So I popped into Sephora after work yesterday to pick up this Aqua Liner from MUFE.  And then today I promptly returned it (yay for Sephora's generous returns policy!).  This liner got rave reviews from all the beauty blogs I saw it on, so I thought I'd love it.  I use a gel liner from MUFE everyday currently, and have for the last 18 months or so.  I've never done liquid liner, and I thought it would be fun to try it.  I was wrong.




Let me break it down by category:
-Packaging.  There's nothing great or bad about the packaging, it's very simple.  You don't get a lot of product for the price, though.  I'd go through this liner in about a month, and the gel liner I use is the same price and lasts 4-5 months.  So...As far as the brush goes, I really don't like it.  It's a very short, firm, pointed foam tip, and I found it really difficult to lose.  I need a brush with more flexibility.  This I struggled to get to apply liner in straight lines, and I gel-line my eyes every day.  
-Formula: I got this liner in matte black.  My first issue is that it wasn't matte.  It dried shiny.  Also it wasn't the darkest black, and it wasn't very pigmented.  It took me two layers to get it opaque, which is just annoying.  It dried relatively quickly, and didn't transfer onto my lids or crease during the day.  That beats my normal gel liner.  However, this liquid liner doesn't wear well.  It flaked off throughout the day and disappeared completely from the inner half of my eyes.  It took me forever to remove, even with waterproof eye makeup remover.
-Overall: Maybe if you like one of the glitterier colors and you only wear liner along your lash line, then this might be a good option.  But for most people, I strongly don't recommend this liner.  I'd give it a D+.


Tarte LipSurgence Natural Lip Tint in Enchanted, $24 at sephora.com: When I returned the liner, I picked up this Tarte lip-stain in Enchanted.  I've wanted one of these for a while now.  I don't really do lip products.  I own four lip-glosses and one lipstick, and that was a recent purchase.  What I love about lip-stains is that they give a sheer wash of color.  It looks much more natural than a creamy lipstick.  This lip-stain comes in a four-inch long tube that looks like an oversized crayon.  It twists up from the bottom, and you get a good amount of product for the price.  I really like that the name of the shade is in the middle of the tube instead of on the end where it rubs off quickly.



Sephora calls this shade a rose.  I'd add that it's a medium hued, bright rose.  It claims to be ridiculously moisturizing (increases moisture content of the lips 60x.  I don't think so.), which I think is just silly.  Most lip-stains are very drying.  This one adds a little moisture to my lips (not a ton, but a little), so it wins on that front.  It applies very smoothly--like butter!--and feels very comfortable on the lips.  The color goes on in a sheer wash, and is easily layered for more or less impact.  My lips are decently pigmented, so on me this looks like I ate a strawberry popsicle.  It's just bright enough to be noticeable and feel fun, and it adds a little depth to my natural lip color.  For someone that's afraid of non-nude lip colors, I really like this.  You can see the color pretty accurately in the swatch, and how pretty and shiny it is.  Once the glossy wears away, the stain is left behind.  You can see the stain very well for about 5 hours, and then it really starts to fade away.




Overall I'd give this lipstain an A-.  I wish it was a little more moisturizing, but it definitely beats the other stains I've tried in terms of moisture and lasting power, and plus I love the color.  These stains also come in a shimmery finish and a matte finish.  The packaging makes me feel like I'm painting my face with a giant Crayola, which I strangely enjoy.  Oh, and these are certified animal cruelty-free, eco-friendly, and sans nasty chemicals, which is always great.


Images via sephora.com.

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Sephora Wants

I could collect makeup like some people collect shoes.  I want more makeup.  Specifically, I want this makeup:


Tarte for True Blood LipSurgence Natural Lip Stain, $24 at sephora.com, Sephora Favorites Beauty & the Bride Combination Set, $50 at sephora.com: True Blood themed makeup?  Hi.  Yes, please.  I love this.  The packaging reminds me of True Blood (aka favorite guilty pleasure show ever), but it's the product that I really like.  When I think of True Blood and lip products, I think of red stained lips, like blood stains.  This is a shimmery red lip stain pencil.  It's perfect.  It would give that 'I just ate a Cherry popsicle' look or 'I just drank some human dry' look, if that's your thing.  Plus the Tarte lip pencils are nicely moisturizing and have great lasting power, so even though you are paying for the branding, you do get a lot of product for the money.  Sephora does great combination sets like this one.  This is bridal themed, so it has lots of basic, neutral makeup, but it also works really nicely for real life. It has $108 worth of product, including a mini Flora by Gucci perfume, Boscia green tea blotting papers, a mini Buxom lipstick, a black Sephora eyeliner, a Bare Minerals lid primer, a Tarte mascara, a Lancome Juicy Tube, a Benefit pore minimizer, a pink Sephora by OPI polish, Stila eye shadow in Kitten, and a Josy Maran Argan oil color stick in a dusty rose.  You get a LOT of product for $50, and a lot of different products, but the best part is that you get a voucher for a free, full Sephora makeover.  Usually you have to buy $50 of product for those, so here you get $50 of mini, full, and sample size products AND the makeover.  Great deal.




Images via sephora.com.

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Review: Orly Terracotta

It was really cold today.  And my feet hurt.  So I had to buy myself pink nail polish.  It makes sense in my head.  I've been having a staring contest with Orly Terracotta for a while now, and today I snapped.


Orly Terracotta Nail Polish, $4 at amazon.com: Terracotta is a pinky-red coral neon.  This stuff is bright.  In comparison with my other neon, Essie's Pink Parka, Terracotta is darker and more saturated.  It's definitely not a Terracotta color though (when I think of Terracotta I think of orangey-brown with a hint of red), but it walks the line between pink and coral nicely and has a nice amount of punch.  It fills a gap in my nail polish collection because I have pinks and I have corals but I didn't have bright pinky-corals.  Hurrah!



As far as application goes, it is a neon--I should know this by now--so it has more of a matte finish.  It's not as matte as Essie's Pink Parka, which is straight up 100% matte, but it only has a slight sheen.  The plus side of that is that it dries pretty quickly, but the downside is that it does drag and can go on streaky.  One coat of top coat and a steady application with fix that problem right up!  I can't comment on wear time yet since I just put it on literally an hour ago, but it looks so good.  It's fun and bright and girly and just a little ridiculous while still being wearable.

The formula is thin but workable, and nicely pigmented.  It's a bit of a jelly, so it's on the sheerer side of pigmented and it has that squishy look on the nail.  It also has no shimmer, glitter, pearl, anything.  I love coral jellys because they feel so light and fresh and tropical--like guava juice!


Awkward Chic Rating A-: Taking a few points off for the matte-ness and difficulty of application, the color is great and I trust Orly's durability.

Images via hairtrade.com.

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Pimp out Your Shower

Maybe this is a personal quirk, but when it gets really hot out and I workout (I rode my pony today!) all I want to do is take a really long, really pimped out shower.  I'm not a bath person, but on days like this I almost want to take one.  As a way for me to live vicariously through all these beauty products, I rounded up some of the stuff I'd love for a spa day-esque shower.  This made a lot more sense in my head.


Bumble & Bumble Deeep Masque, $26 at sephora.com, Diptyque Baies Candle, $60 at amazon.com: One of my favorite things to do in long showers is use some sort of deep conditioner or hair mask to freshen up my dried out ends.  I've heard really great things about this Bumble & Bumble mask--basically that it's like a miracle for damaged hair or split ends, both of which I have.  Personal tip: leave on a hair mask while you shave your legs.  That takes anyone at least 5 minutes (unless you are some crazy superhero mutant, in which case I hate you), which is plenty of time to get some moisture back into your hair.  This candle may be totally overpriced, but you get to splurge on a spa shower day.  And I realize you can't smell a candle in the shower, but...I really like it.  So there.  It smells like blackcurrants and Bulgarian roses, aka a totally amazing fruity-floral, and the smell lasts forever.  You can burn it for an hour or so a day and the smell will stick around all day, so you can get a month or two out of this little guy.




Carol's Daughter Sweet Honey Dip Chocolate Brown Sugah Scrub, $34 at sephora.com, Sephora Apple Pomegranate Dry Oil, $5 at sephora.com: I hate shaving cream.  It makes me cut myself so much more than shaving without shaving cream does, which is counter-intuitive.  What I do love for shaving are sugar scrubs.  They exfoliate dead skin AND moisturize you enough to get a good shave.  This one is packed with real brown sugar, which smells amazing, and it also smells like chocolate.  I want my shower to smell like chocolate, so this is a winner.  It has rave reviews on Sephora, and it's mostly organic, too.  You want to maintain that moisture once you get out of the shower, which is why dry oils are great.  You spray this one on once you get out of the shower and then rub it in to dry.  They give your skin a great sheen, and this one is $5.  That's amazing.  Plus it smells like apples and pomegranates, which just sounds delicious.




Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter, $20 at sephora.com, Korres Showergel in Japanese Rose, $19.50 at sephora.com: The Body Shop body butters are basically famous for their greatness.  You get a lot for the money, and they keep your skin happy all day.  But my favorite part of this is the scent.  Satsuma smells like a bunch of happy, fresh tangerines and just reminds me of summer and sunshine and happiness.  Plus the scent lingers all day, so you can smell like sunshine for hours!  Rub this in right out of the shower, so you can seal in all that moisture.  Korres makes the best shower gels.  Confession: whenever I go to a hotel with Korres products in the bathroom I hoard them like a sociopath because they are AWESOME.  They're eco-friendly, and they come in the best scents.  Japanese Rose is like Japanese Cherry Blossom at Bath and Body Works, light and fresh and clean with a hint of florals.  The Korres formula lathers up really nicely and makes you feel super clean, but it doesn't dry out your skin like a lot of foaming shower gels do.  And the pump is really handy for getting everything out of the bottle, too.




Do you guys have any favorite shower products?

Images via sephora.com, amazon.com.

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Review: MAC Harmony Blush

I have been looking for a good contour product FOREVER.  I do have cheekbones, but I also have a roundish face and they tend to get lost in my cheeks, so I am a perfect candidate for contouring.  For those of you that don't know, contouring is when you use a product in a shade that's a few shades deeper than your actual skin tone to create shadows on your face, usually under the jaw and cheekbones, along the temples and down the sides of the nose.  You want a matte, neutral shade because shimmer draws light to the part of the face you put it on, which makes that part of your face appear to protrude more--hence why using a shimmery product on the top of your cheekbones can make them seem more obvious.


The problem I've had is that I'm really pale, and most contour powders pull orange on me--heck, most foundation pulls orange on me.  Which makes me look like a clown.  Boo.  Pixi2woo, my favorite YouTube beauty blogger, uses MAC's powder blush in Harmony to contour all the time, and since she's pale(ish) like me, I had to try it.


I could not get a good picture of this.  It kept coming out darker and pinker than it actually is.  This picture is pretty true to life.  MAC describes it as a muted rose-beige brown matte blush, which you can get for $19.50 at maccosmetics.com.  On me it comes out as a medium, neutral-warm brown, and it's the perfect contouring color. It's extremely pigmented, but also blends easily, so you can layer for the effect you want (and to get it to work on darker skin tones).  On my oily skin it lasts all day and I only have to use a tiny bit, so this tin will last me forever.




I apply it with a skunk brush in the 3-shape on my face (under the jaw, around the side of the face to under the cheekbone, and around the temple to the sides of the forehead) and it gives my face a nice amount of structure and depth.


The packaging is standard MAC, decent quality and simple, and the product has no scent or SPF, so I don't think it'll irritate anyone's skin. You could probably use it as a bronzer if you're as pale as me, so it can go double duty.


Overall rating: A+.  It works perfectly as a contour without pulling orange on me, it lasts all day and applies easily, and I think it will work for range of skin types and skin tones.  It's not cheap, but it will last forever, so it's a good deal.

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Bath and Body Works Apricot Vanilla

I really need to stop shopping.  BUT IT'S SO HARD.  I'm like a hoarder for pretty things.  Gah.  Here's some of the stuff I've gotten/wanted recently.


Apricot Vanilla Tasty Lip Gloss, $7 at bathandbodyworks.com, Apricot Vanilla Body Lotion, $5.25 at bathandbodyworks.com: I am not a Bath and Body Works girl.  So much of their stuff smells so strong and sweet to me that it gives me a migraine and I just don't bother even going in/near the store.  But my mom needed something there the other day, so I was browsing around when I stumbled across their Apricot Vanilla line.  The simple, subdued packaging called to me, and the whole line was on sale for half off, so I picked up a lip gloss and a body cream (the lotion is pictured because the cream seems to have sold out online).  In the store the lip gloss was $3.50, which is a great deal.  It's a thick, somewhat sticky gloss that's sheer but has tons of shimmer.  It doesn't add any color to the lips but it adds some sparkle without looking frosty, which I like.  It smells and tastes like peaches and cream--so not apricots and vanilla, but it smells pretty darn good.  Since it's sticky, it lasts on the lips for a long while--around 3 hours, and best of all it actually moisturizes!  The body cream really does smell like vanilla and apricots, with the boozy sweetness of the vanilla and the creamy tang of the apricots.  It was like $6 on sale for a large tube of the cream, which is a decent price, and the formula is great.  It rubs in quickly and doesn't leave me feeling greasy, but it's thick and creamy and extremely moisturizing.  My favorite part is that the scent lingers all day, but really close to the skin.  So you can wear perfume on top of it and not overwhelm everyone within in a 10 foot radius.  I have basically no loyalty to body lotions, but I would purchase this again for the yummy but inoffensive scent and moisturizing formula.





I'd give those 2 products an A+.  The prices were great, they smelled amazing, and they both did what they claimed to do.  If you like the sound of Apricot Vanilla, act now because I think it's being discontinued.  It was part of a series of vanilla based scents--like cherry vanilla, coconut vanilla, etc--and I think they're being switched out for a series of coconut based scents.


Swingtown Sweetie Dress, $79.99 at modcloth.com: Y'all know I'm a sucker for Southern-style sundresses.  It's actually becoming a bit of problem.  I've been stalking Modcloth's New section for weeks now, and I'm in love with this little white dress.  The black and white color combo is just graphic enough, but the ways that the black is used--in the lace, in a polka dot sash--are so sweet that the color combo still makes a charming statement and isn't too hard or minimalist.  The deep v-neckline in the back and front add a little sass, and the tulle underskirt creates a flattering a-line shape and some old school charm.  I want to wear this with a pair of red heels while sipping a giant glass of sweet tea.




Images via bathandbodyworks.com, modcloth.com.

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Another Sundress and MAC Shy Girl Lipstick

Someone needs to lock me in my house and keep me from shopping.  For serious.  I just bought my fifth dress in a week.  Gah.  It is super cute though.


Forever21 Pleated Floral Dress, $19.90 at forever21.com: It's hard to tell in my terrible pictures, but it's a light mint green with coral flowers.  Worn with vintage cardigan and belt and Frye boots.  I really like this dress because it's a fun color (and one I don't have in my closet), it's light, cheap, and easy to wear, and the back is smocked, so it will fit a range of sizes.  I got a medium because I have a larger chest, but if you have a normal sized chest I think it runs a little big.  The colors are a little unconventional, and I think that helps modernize the floral print.  Also I would totally collect retro sundresses if I could.  But like really.  I know I wear these same boots with everything, but I think they balance out the super girly sundress nicely, and the cardigan adds a little coverage.




In other news, I BOUGHT A LIPSTICK!  That actually has never happened.  Like never.  I've wanted a nude-ish lippie for a while now, but lipstick scares me.  That might be funny from someone who wears significant amounts of black gel liner everyday, but lipstick...lipstick is intense.  It requires so much more patience and thought in selecting shades.  But I know it's silly that I avoid lipstick altogether, so I put a toe in the pool by picking up a nude lippie.  The SA (sales associate for y'all that don't know the lingo) at MAC recommended Shy Girl to me. The MAC website describes it as a creamy neutral coral beige, and it's a cremesheen finish, which means that it's a creamy lipstick with a glossy finish.  It came out a little brighter and lighter in the photos than in real life.




My lips are naturally pretty pigmented and sort of a medium pinkish red, so this is lighter than my natural lip color by just a bit.  I really wanted something that would lighten up my lip color without making me look like a zombie, and Shy Girl is perfect for that.  On me it comes across as a peachy-pink nude with the TINIEST hint of shimmer, and it is absolutely gorgeous.  It lightens my lips just enough to be noticeable, and the hint of peach is really pretty and summery.  It goes on very creamy and pigmented in one stroke, and it has a pretty decent lasting power--about 3-4 hours--without lip liner.  It has a very slight vanilla scent but no discernible taste, and the packaging is classic MAC, very simple and sleek.  All in all, I love this.  It's right in my comfort zone, it doesn't dry out my lips or settle into my lip lines, and the color is lovely.  For reference I'm NW15 at MAC, so very pale and on the warmer side of neutral.




Awkward Chic rating: A-.  I wish it lasted a bit longer and that it wasn't $14.50, but in terms of color and formula I LOVE IT.

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Review: MUFE 23L Aqua Eyes Liner

This eyeliner has been on my wish list FOREVER.  You know how wanting something for a really long time can make you build it up in your head and then once you actually get it it's never as good as you thought it would be? Yeah.  I wanted a light, shimmery liner to put on my lower waterline to make my eyes look brighter and wider and more awake in general, and the MUFE Aqua Eyes liners are my absolute favorites.  I wear contacts and have dry eyes, so I'm always using eye drops, and these liners stay in place through all of that.  They are legitimately waterproof, last forever, and are just creamy enough not to drag but firm enough to let you create a thin, steady line.  I can't say enough good things about these liners.  Honestly.


I got the 23L liner, which Sephora describes as a metallic pink champagne.  I'd say it's a metallic peach champagne, but close enough.  Out of the light (where I could not get it to show up in my pictures for the life of me), it's slightly darker than my NW15 skin tone and shows up as a warm nude.  In the light it's a light, shimmery/metallic nude peach.  It's very pretty.  Also, I just spent a solid minute trying to scrub that swatch off my hand and failed.  This liner isn't going ANYWHERE until you want it to.  Here's the pencil itself--it's a pretty long pencil, and will probably last me about a year.




Now, here's my only issue with it.  I should have realized that since I am uber-pale, to lighten my waterline/inner eye lid lighter than it already is I need a pencil that's basically white.  This is about the same color as my lid, so it adds a little brightness and shimmer for an overall pretty effect, but it doesn't do that much lightening.  That's not the pencil's fault, it just doesn't have as much impact as I was expecting.


So, overall I'd give it an A-.  The pencil itself is fantastic, but I had to take off a few points for the low-impact effect.  I would really recommend this for slightly darker skin tones--it would be absolutely lovely.

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Review: Essie Pink Parka

This nail polish is an interesting story.  After getting my nails done with a neon pink Essie a week or so ago, I was craving for a neon of my own.  I stumbled across Essie Pink Parka and it looked so vibrant in the swatches that I had to have it.  Well, none of those swatches mentioned that it was a MATTE.  Yep, a matte nail polish.  Apparently something about the pigment used in neon polishes makes the finish matte.  Ugh.  I strongly dislike matte polish.  It makes my feel like my finger nails are dirty and gross.  I am not a fan.  However, there is a somewhat happy end to the story, so keep on reading.


Pink Parka is from Essie's Fall 2009 collection and is apparently discontinued.  However it's very easy to find on eBay and Amazon.  I got it for about $7 with shipping, and since Essie is $8 in stores it was a pretty good deal.  It is a straight up neon pink creme.  So neon that it actually glows in the dark (well not really, but I'm pretty sure it could if it wanted to).  These pictures were taken out of direct sunlight on a cloudy day, and that's how bright Pink Parka is.  There is actually no way it could be brighter or more neon.




As for the application...ugh.  Matte nail polishes dry very, very quickly.  This means that if you pick up a normal amount of polish on the brush, half the nail will be dry before you finish painting the other half, and your nails will end up looking chalky and streaky.  You need to pick up a lot of polish on the brush and paint as quickly as possible to get an even coat, and you're still going to have to do at least 2 and probably 3 coats.  And then it has a very matte finish that can only be remedied with 2 coats of a super shiny top coat, like Seche Vite.  The one plus side to the whole matte thing is that this polish dries SUPER fast, and the matte finish can be defeated with some top coat.




So what's the verdict?  I'm going this polish a B.  I love, love, love the color, but the matte finish is a killer and the application is a pain.  I think the wear time is going to be average--on day 3 I have slight wear around the edges.  So all in all, this color is worthwhile if you want something truly neon and have the patience to deal with the finish and application.

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Essie, China Glaze, and Barbie

Sorry for not blogging on Friday!  It was Relay for Life at my school, which is a 12 hour relay for the American Cancer Society, so I was doing that instead.  Everyone should do it if it's available at your school, because it's really fun and it's a great cause!


Anyways, on a more frivolous note, I got my nails did this weekend in some pretty fab colors.  On my toes I have Essie's Flirty Fuchsia.  I really wanted something obnoxiously neon on my toes to make me feel cheerful and summery since the Boston weather has been so terrible, and I love me some pink, so neon pink it was.  I LOVE THIS COLOR.  It's just bright enough to be noticeable, but it's not glaring, and it's actually a pretty flattering color.  It went on nicely in 2 coats.  Another alternative to Flirty Fuchsia is Essie's Pink Parka.




Now on my fingers I got China Glaze's Stella.  These pictures came out so wrong.  It's such a pretty color in real life.  It's a medium-dark vibrant purple with bright pink shimmer.  Out of direct light it's a pretty vampy purple, but when it catches the light that pink shimmer comes out and it becomes this fun, bright warm purple.  It's just a really happy, pretty color that I wish I had in my polish collection.  It covered nicely in 2 coats as well.  I always get things named Stella because it was the name of my first blog and it's also the name of one of my sorority's founders. :)




For some reason I can NOT get this video to center.  Someone made a life-size scale model of what Barbie would look like if her proportions were scaled up to normal human size, and it is truly terrifying.  She wouldn't be able to standard and her organs wouldn't be able to fit in her body.  It says a lot about the unrealistic body expectations we develop as kids, huh?  I wouldn't WANT to look like Barbie.  Barbie looks grotesque--and the Bratz dolls aren't much better.  It's about time that we get some normal-sized, non-sluttified dolls for girls to play with, no?

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Craving: UK Drugstore Beauty

So one of the reasons that I'm super psyched to go to Spain/the Schengen zone in general (too much EU reading, gah) is for the drugstore makeup/beauty products.  They have so much stuff with such better quality control/stricter manufacturing standards than we have in the US.  Also stuff that's basically just awesome.  I rounded up a few awesome sounding products that I've seen in my favorite UK beauty blogger videos.


Bioderma Crealine H20, Boots No. 7 Quick Thinking Wipes, Max Factor Aqua Lash Mascara: Apparently this Bioderma stuff is the best makeup remover ever.  It looks, smells, and feels like water but it takes off EVERYTHING with zero irritation/scrubbing. Also it just looks so happy and French and healthy.  You can actually get these Boots wipes in the US but I tend to associate anything Boots with the UK so...They're great because they take off most any makeup and they clean and tone/moisturize your skin.  So if you're lazy and you just want to go to sleep without washing your face, just use these.  Done and done.  I love Max Factor.  SO MUCH.  But it isn't sold in the US anymore, so I am totally stocking up on Max Factor Aqua Lash when I get to Europe.  It's fantastic because it's super buildable, keeps your lashes soft, and never flakes or smudges.






Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, Bourjois Delice Bronzing Powder, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer: My favorite YouTube beauty guru, Pixi2Woo, uses this Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation.  It looks light with good coverage, and seems to add some healthy radiance to skin while also ifnusing some lovely vitamins and antioxidants.  So this Bourjois bronzer is shaped like a chocolate bar and chocolate scented.  Um.  Yes.  It's a lovely deep brown with subtle golden shimmer and just looks so pretty and natural on.  I struggle so much with finding good bronzers, and this may actually work on pale skin.  Apparently this concealer is super cheap and crazy effective--it stays on all day without budging.  I have dry AND oily skin and I have a lot of trouble with concealer longevity so this sounds fab.




Has anyone tried any of these?  Thoughts?

Images via boots.co.uk, anapettusdiaries.com.

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Review: Zoya Kimmy

Zoya Kimmy is the second of the two Zoya polishes I got with their last promo.  Zoya describes it as a gleaming metallic candy apple red brightened by gold sparkle.


I'm sorry that these pictures are less than awesome.  There was no sunlight today, and it doesn't seem likely that there will be any sunlight for the next few days, so I figured I may as well just post the pictures I had.  The finish is similar to Zoya's other metallic glitters, like Edyta or Valerie, an opaque base with thick, multi-hued microglitter in contrasting colors.  In Kimmy, the base color is a candy apple red and the shimmer is red and a bright gold.  From the description I was expecting more of a red with a slight hint of gold, but in any sort of direct lighting the gold really stands out.  The combination of red and gold turns this candy apple red into a reddish orange.  Really in almost any light it turns into a metallic red-orange.  That's definitely not what I was expecting, but it is pretty and flattering on my NW15 skintone.  It reminds me of fire--red, orange, gold, gleaming and shimmering metallic finish.  You can really see the gold in the bottle picture.




The application of Kimmy was standard Zoya--easy to apply, opaque in 2 coats, self-leveling and quick drying.  Since it is very heavy on the glitter, it is harder to remove than a cream polish but it also lasts longer on my nails.  One issue I have with Zoya is that it is very picky about what topcoats it works with, and it does not like Seche Vite.  That's a problem for me because I love Seche Vite and how quickly and shiny it dries.  What I do is layer I coat of a topcoat Zoya polishes do get along with, generally a random Sally Hansen, and then I do Seche Vite on top of that, and it seems to work.


Zoya is a 4-free polish (not 3-free like OPI and Essie), and the brush is a little smaller and more unwieldy than an OPI brush. 


Awkward Chic rating: A-.  I like the formula a lot, and I do like the color, although it's not what I expected.  Orange isn't really my thing, but the red and the gold twist to this one keeps it interesting and sassy, so it works for me.

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