I Finally Got the 88 Palettes!

So, initially this was disastrous. Yesterday I was checking my mail (I didn't have time during the weekend) only to discover, to my dismay, that my 88 palettes from Starsmakeuphaven had arrived (supposedly) at my house on Friday. Uhm, yeah, I checked all day; no package in sight! I thought that there was either some sort of mistake, or someone stole my package, but I wasn't overly worried, because luckily I paid for insurance on my package, and it would be replaced. My brother, who works at UPS, and obviously is more knowledgeable about package delivery (is it just me or does that sound mildly perverse?) and told me to wait till Monday.
And I did. And I'm glad that I did because they are here! They are just as pigmented and gorgeous as everyone says they are, I am very impressed. I do not refer to mine as the "CS palettes" only because I didn't buy them there. The reason? One, Starsmakeuphaven ships from Ohio, while Coastal Scents ships from Florida. I live all the way at the end of the West Coast, so obviously Ohio is a shorter distance, and thus, shipping is much cheaper (I think it was three dollars without insurance versus seven dollars). Also, the palettes are about a few bucks cheaper. It doesn't seem that much when you think about it, but put it together and I saved about six dollars, which I used to be able to buy insurance for my package as well as some little sitck on magnets for my MAC palette. Huzzah!

HUGE Repost; Cruel and Unusual Punishment

So I made the jump from Wordpress to blogger... mostly because I like blogger better, and it's far easier to use for me. So all those posts are way old, since I only had a few entries in my other blog. Hm... so, I really have neglected my blog(s) for awhile, I told myself I wasn't going to do that... oh well.
Also, I am severely lacking in the make up department. You have no idea. I don't want to sound like a typical whiny teenager (though I pretty much am, in a sense), my mom has taken punishment to new extremes (due to a not-so-satisfactory report card). What is this punishment you ask? She pretty much took my make up. Not all of it, which I actually consider pretty generous, but most of it, about half. I think mainly my eye shdows and whatnot. She's not SO strict that she took everything; she atleast left me my face stuff so I wouldn't look dead or hideous. Plus I have all of my lip products, and a few liners, mascaras, and other assorted things. The only eye shadows I have are neutral colors, and a few colorful Claire's "not as shitty as I expected" palette, but I miss my Ben Nye and Kryolan and Urban Decay and Make Up Forever palettes ever so terribly. I never realized how much I would miss them. I'll post pictures of what I have maybe later. In a way, it's good; it's forced me to use shadows I hardly ever use, and focus on technique and precision versus color. When my grades are brought up (the next report comes in a few weeks, and I've been doing good in school so I BETTER get my make up back!) I will have my make up back. So, geez, is that a motivator or what?

Movies, and Make Up That Suprises You

I said this wouldn't be a make up blog, but so far I've been mostly talking about cosmetic or beauty related things. So, I will FINALLY talk about non-cosmetic based things. First of all, last night I watched one of the most amazing movies in awhile. It's called 'The Fall", and just so many things about it is amazing. First of all, it's a visual orgasm. I watched it in Blu Ray, but still, just... wow. WOW. They traveled to so many places to film it. Plus, I love all of the actors' performances and the characters. In the plot (I won't give away too much) basically, a little girl is getting a story told to her, and because you see the "story" from her imagination, some things are a little silly (for example, it is set back in the early 1900's, and in one part he says the man is an "Indian". Because she is foreign, she thinks it's an Indian from India, versus a Native American, which is what he really reffers to. Also, they characters in the story get saved by an swimming "elephant" in which you see an actual African/Asian elephant, when really he is reffering to a manatee) and the characters in the story are all portrayed by people she knows in real life. The little girl in the story is so endearing and adorable, it's ridiculous. It will make you laugh AND cry. It's just so amazing, you need to see it.

Anyways, here's a make up related thinga-majigger. Do you ever have make up products that totally surprise you? Either you expect it to be really crappy, but it turns out way better than you imagined? Or you expect it to blow you away, and it sucks? I've had an experience like that; a long while ago, I went to the store "Claires". Now, I know that about 99% of the products there suck, but sometimes they have cute, decently priced things. They had a sale on

"cosmetics", buy one get another item 50% off. And I spotted the most glorious thing; a huge stack of different glitters!

I am a glitter fiend, so immediately I got a "oooh!" response. I had to buy it. But I figure, hey, why not buy something else? So I tried to find something that may be worth buying, but the only other thing they had were (Crappy) nail polishes and some "make up" palettes. I know what makeup from stores like these are like, because I (unfortunately) used to buy them when I was still a very little girl. Talcy, no pigmentation whatsoever, full of glitter chunks, etc. But they were the cheapest thing, and for some reason, I wanted to mock this palette, to show "HAH I have risen above you level! I now play with the big dog make up brands!" so, insanely, I purchased this palette (it had the lid on when I bought it):

[gallery]

So I got home and pretty much abandoned it. No swatching, no playing, no mocking. That glitter stack was pretty much the apple of my eye for a while. Finally, about a week later, I remember the palette. So, removing the plastic wrapper, I opened it, waiting to be amused. But to my surprise... The shadows were pigmented! Some of them, not so much, but others (namely the greens and blues) were pigmented! Even more so than my shitty NYX shadows! The texture was quite silky as well. I was flabergasted. What, how?! Perhaps teeny boppers were starting to get more make up savvy and Claire's stepped up their game? Or maybe it was just an incredibly rare find. Whatever it was, it made me keep the palette. I don't use it much to this day, but it never ceases to amaze me. (FYI I forget the prices of both, but I know they were in the $5-$8 range).

Heavenly Natural Beauty Haul

Ahhh! My Heavenly Natural Beauty Haul arrived! Yay! Luckily I swatched and took pictures of them this afternoon, when the lighting was fairly decent. I got a total of 12 colors, for about $60 total (free shipping). I forgot when I ordered, but I think it took only three days or so to come. The area was pretty close, they ship from New Mexico, and I live in California, so no wonder! And now, with no further ado here are the swatches and pictures (FYI all swatches are without a base).

I didn’t label them because I put them basically in the same order in all three pictures, so you can see for yourself. I really like these. There was a little bit of fall out when I swatched these, but it’s a given with mineral make up, not to mention that the area I swatched then (underside of arm) is dry and doesn’t have as much oil as say, your eye lid, and thus the mineral pigments had nothing to stick too. The colors are vibrant, but a few don’t look as they did on the site. I am a little disappointed with the “Emo” pigment/liner (Props with the funny name though); I really wanted a matte black loose shadow! However it isn’t very pigmented, more charcoal than black. It’s still a nice color, though. Oh, and as I mentioned in the previous post, there is a duochrome in the bunch; “Earth Child” is a pretty taupe/tan brown with a gorgeous green duochrome shimmer! Of all the colors, Emo, Hypnotic, Deep Ocean, Nymph, and Rare Beauty were matte, the rest ranged from light shimmer to very shimmery. And I am very, incredibly pleased with Diva, can’t wait to use it in a look! It’s incredibly pigmented; I barely used any shadow at all with the swatches, and they turned out pretty vibrant. The price is amazing as well, so I would check them out if I were you!

Duochrome Madness

Hello. My name is Denise. And I'm addicted to Duo-Chromes. I don't know what about them makes them so appealing. So versatile, gorgeous... I suppose it's my obsession with color. I like to squeeze it anywhere possible. So the idea of squeezing two (possibly three; I do in fact own Trio-Chrome eye shadow and nail polishes!) colors into one? AMAZING. Plus, putting them over different bases (specifically dark bases like black) really transforms them. I love them, period. So today's post will be me talking about duo-chromes (And, here's a little tidbit; chrome is not named after the finish chrome, like the metal finish, but short for chromatic; color. And duo is obvious; two. So it means two color, basically. And thus a Trio, or Tri Chrome would be a three color e/s or nailpolish!).

First, nails. I neglect my nails, and my hands are gross. I still bite my nails, but it's even worse than most people, mainly because I don't limit the biting to only my nails; it's also to the skin around my nails. As a result my hands are often dry and gross, and I'm embarrassed of them. However, my love of color overpowers my shame so, it results in my nails being painted prettily. I haven't painted my nails in a long time, so I was wondering what to use. I have a whole collection of duochrome and trichrome nail polishes, because they were only $1.00 at Rhinomart. They're all by Rimmel, and the picture does them no justice:

Out of all my nail polishes, these four, hands down, are my favorite (and maybe Purple Passion from Milani, but it's too sheer!). The picture does them no justice, so I'll describe them in greater detail;

Pulsating: A hot fuschia with violet duochrome. When put over a black base (as I did) the violet stands out more; it reminds me of "Stars and Rockets" MAC e/s or Cosmic Violet from Ben Nye or Fishnet from Urban Decay in nailpolish form, except way more intense.

Fusion: A silver/blue/lavender TRI chrome. I haven't tried it over a black base, but I assume the blue and violet stand out more. Gorgeous.

Radical: Probably the most "subtle" of the trichromes. It's the most strangest, gorgeous, interesting color ever. I don't wear it over a black base because it's amazing on it's own. It has tan, gold, and violet in it! Looks different in different lighting. I think this one is probably my all time favorite.

Mania: Probably the most vibrant of the bunch. It's reminds me of the sea; it's a really intense cobalt blue with sea green and lime green and gold flecks. Also a Tri-Chrome. Over a black base, it looks like a blackened green with lime/gold shimmer.

I'm not sure if these colors are discontinued, but if they aren't, pick them up! They're amazing.

Anyways, the nail's I'm wearing now are "Pulsating" over a black base. Picture here:

See? Nasty hands. Haha.

Anyways, now onto lips. I just purchased a Smashbox gloss duochrome, but I already have pictures, and I only have a few. The only other one I have (and can think of at the moment) is "Queen of Africa" from NYX. It's a not-so obvious duochrome, it's kind of like a violet-orchid color. I don't really like purple on my lips, so I pair it with this pale pink lipstick from Avon called Pink Fantasie. Alone, I don't like these two products, but together they're amazing! And for an added duochrome effect, I add some Vellum e/s from MAC over it. I seriously love putting Vellum over my lipglosses; it makes them so pretty, not to mention tones down the glossiness, which sometimes I appreciate (because I don't want to look like I drooled all over myself). Pics here:

And I wasn't going to add this, but, eye shadow. I own only four duochromes, Vellum e/s from MAC and Label Whore e/s from Too Faced, and my two favorite from Physician's formula, both DISCONTINUED. They even had a duochrome liquid liner, but it dried up and I threw it away (it was this pretty sparkling black/blue/violet color). Anyways, here are the two colors;

Again, the pictures do these e/s no justice, so here's another description;

Metal Sun: A gold/orange/rusty pink duochrome. Sometimes, it even looks violet. My favorite of the two.

Electric Green: A green/turquoise/blue-violet color. I like it, but in certain lighting the green look's moldy, so I don't use it as much as Metal Sun.

Anyways, hope you enjoy DuoChrome and the ever so rare TriChrome cosmetic products. I think I may have a few more from Heavenly Natural Beauty, yay!

P.S. If you know any good duochrome or trichrome eye shadows, nail polishes, or lip glosses/sticks, let me know!

Hauling Results in Happy Wallets

So... you know how I said I would save my money? Well... I didn't. BUT I HAVE A JUSTIFIABLE REASON. The order I placed yesterday from Heavenly Natural Beauty was free- well, for me. My brother paid for it, "A late Christmas Gift". WOW. What a nice guy huh? Sixty bucks FOR FREE. If that wasn't enough I went to the Ontario Mills mall today, and decided "Hey, why not splurge a little?"

A little too much splurging, unfortunately. My "haul" only consisted of 5 items (beauty related). The rest were clothes and shoes, but I'm probably not going to discuss them in detail because, well, it's kind of boring. Anyways, first, I went to this place called "Planet Beauty". I've been wanting to buy Tweezerman tweezers for ages, and they never have them at the local Sephoras. I opted not to buy one online, and just bought it there. It was a plain stainless steel one, $20 (I wanted a colored one, but the only colored ones they had were pointed...). I also saw some very pretty Smashbox glosses for $18 each. Every time I purchase make up, I've always been a "more focus on the eyes" kinda gal, mainly because you can play with color more so there than your lips or cheeks (you can't have blue or purple or green lips!). So as my "New Years Resolution" I plan on buying more lip and cheek products. Which is what I did. A few of the glosses caught my eye. I decided on two of them. But then, hey, why not three? Of course, in my mind I thought of the costs separately (Oh it's just $18!) but together plus tax; the four items were $80. At the cash register, this is my (mental) reaction: "HOLY F$()@*#)*@*(%$#CK!!!!!!". Of course, on the outside, I kept my composure and a placid smile.

Even though it was a lot of money, I'm glad I bought them, I do not regret my purchases whatsoever. After weeks (I began to look like a Yeti) of lazy Winter-break-lack-of-tweezing, I set these Tweezers to work. Part of me wishes I took a "before" and "after picture" (because seriously, I was plucking so fast I swore there was smoke coming out of those tweezers!), goddamn my brows were hairy. But they're nice and tidy and plucked now. I keep admiring them in the mirror, because I'm a freak.

I also really like my glosses, I was kind of worried I would have colors similar to them, but luckily I don't. Even those that seem like they might seem similar, the formula and texture made all the difference. Anyways, the three glosses were in (btw, I'm taking all the color descriptions from the lovely Sephora) Candid (a sheer pink-rose with gold shimmer), Flash (a slightly more opaque shimmering golden coral), and Electric (a fuchsia pink with blue-toned shimmer). Of the three, Flash was the most opaque, Electric was slightly less opaque, and Candid was very sheer. FYI Electric SO does not look like the Sephora online picture. You need to fix that Sephora! Also, I found this kind of weird, all of the brushes were the typical felt tip (is that what you called them?) applicators, except for Candid which uses a brush. Hmmm. Wonder why? I don't really have a favorite, but if I had to pick, I think it may be Electric. Mainly because I'm a big fan of the fuchsia/magenta/hot pink lip gloss, not to mention the pretty blue shimmer. And you know what that means; whiter looking teeth! That's always a huge plus. Anyways, enough of my yapping; swatches here:

(different lighting)

(different lighting, and why did I type "Electro" instead of Electric?! Haha sorry, I'm weird that way.)

Now to see them on my lips, hehehe:

Sorry about my lighting, the colors don't look as vibrant as they do in real life. But I'm too lazy to try and retake pictures with better lighting, haha.

Anyways, the rest is pretty much boring (more boring?) from here on out. Victoria's Secret was having it's semi-annual sale, which to me equals cheap beauty products. Of course, I didn't have much money left after the lip glosses and tweezers... so I only bought one thing. Not to mention there weren't many things left there, a lot of nail polishes, a few lip glosses, and some body powders. I don't really use body powders and their lip glosses looked kind of "ew", so I picked out my favorite nail polish shade. I don't have a color like this; it's called "Cocktail". It looks different in different lighting. It's sort of a pink-y, coral, fluorescent orange shade with very subtle gold shimmers. It kind of reminds me of "Vegas Volt" lipstick from MAC in nail polish form, except with little shimmers in it. The nail polish was only $2.88 with tax!!! I had four I originally wanted to buy, I wish I atleast bought two (there was this mauve-pink with purple and blue shimmer in it- wahhh! So pretty) Anyways, swatches here:

(different lighting)

On my fingers (excuse my gross fingers, Winter is a bitch. Also, yes, I AM inadvertently flipping you off!)

Anyways that is all. To tired to talk about clothes that I bought, however I must quickly gush about my shoes. I got these suede mocasin-flat type shoes with cute ribbon detailing, and the lining is with some sort of faux-fur. They're really comfortable (and we're fairly cheap, just $19.99!). I also got some ecosneaks from Simple! I've been wanting these for a long time, and for awhile I thought I could only buy them online. Basically they're really cool; made out of recycled material and hemp. I don't see the style I have on the website anymore, but basically if you're curious they're in the style called "Satire", but the light blue with a small orange band trim style I own (trust me, it's cuter in person) isn't there. Oh well. I like them, but I kind of like the other styles online better. I wanted this one:

But -sigh- you can't always get what you want. Heh.

Kyuub Cravings

Is an obsession still considered an obsession when one knows he or she is obsessed? Either way, I am fully aware I have a more than healthy fascination with collecting, using, and just anything pertaining to makeup. Recently for Christmas I've received not one, but TWO things I have been coveting FOREVER. What are they? The Ben Nye Grand Lumiere Palette and the Kryolan 24 Aquacolor Palette:

Yes, I am aware that the site I bought them from (Bubba Sikes) sells clown make up, which probably is a normal's person's representation of how I apply my makeup. However, it's the cheapest place on the net that sell these two palettes, and it's so worth my dad making fun of my "clown make up".

I know it's pretty late. People have been gushing about these two products/ brands for awhile now. I thought that because of how great everyone said it was, I would be pleased, but not amazed. How wrong I was. You know you're a makeup addict when you spend about ten minutes playing with your palette, admiring every little pot without even touching a single color. I'm a freak. Sorry.

I've been telling myself that to cut down on my avid makeup buying; I'd ONLY buy large palettes, and thus cut down on the need for me to buy other stuff. My only other huge buy were to be the two humongous 88 color palettes from Coastalscents. But I cave. I horribly, awfully caved. Damn Christmas, the majority of my relatives gave me money, because I really don't specify what I want (considering most are on the internet, and my relatives don't really believe in internet shopping). I told myself I would save it (mainly I'm saving it for the Hello Kitty MAC release in February. Think I can keep my money that long? We'll see), but NOO. I just had to see the most amazingly, gorgeous, vibrant, candy colored FOTD/Tutorial EVER (I'll put a link to it if you want). It featured this brand called Heavenly Natural Beauty. I swore, I drooled all over my keyboard. Now, there are a lot of "Mineral Make Up" sites out there, and I can usually force myself not to buy anything. Why did I cave this time?

I guess I should explain. I'm a sucker for purple. I'd like to say I do not discarnate against color (accept the nasty ones that look like they would be the product of bodily secretions); I equally love my reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, purples. Roy G. Biv is my best friend. But I have a soft spot for purple. Or should I say, violet. I love me some violet. And I don't know about you, but BRIGHT AS FUCK violet colors are hard to fine. Of the supposed "bright" violet colors I've tried (Urban Decay's Ransom and Ben Nye's Amethyst) just have left me with a yearn, a challenge, "Is this the brightest purple? Or am I destined for a life with below-average purples?" (FYI, I have tried all the purples I've encountered with just about every base/cream shadow/ etc known) BUT OH. OH HO HO. No more yearn. For I saw the most gorgeous purple ever. I nearly imploded from sheer amazement. Heavenly Natural Beauty makes a color called "Diva". I wanted to cry; it was the most glorious purple I have ever SEEN. I know there were a few purples I have yet to try (Make Up Forever's 92 and assorted gorgeous purple shades from Lime Crime), but I was afraid of more disappointment. I had already seen this blessed color in action; and I wanted it.

And it all just snowballed from there. Then I told myself "Whoah whoah whoah! Only $4.99?! Well, I can't just buy ONE..." then it went to "OH. Free shipping over $50?! Well, I might as well..." and then finally "Bah, what's a few more gonna hurt?". The total was about $60 for 12, TWELVE eye dust/shadows/etc. That's a lot! And they give you a lot! I say it's worth it. But besides spending my various MAC or Sephora gift cards, I will nix the make up buying. Sigh.

But that Dame Edna collection does have some gorgeous lipglasses... (I'm looking at you, Possum Nose Pink!)

I'll swatch my Heavenly Natural Beauty "haul" (hehehe, I thought I'd never hear myself say that!) when I receive it, for it seems there aren't that many swatches on it. Hoorahhh!