2 Nail Looks - Orange Pink Gradient and Black and Gold Lace

I went to see Maleficent today and thought the movie was quite good! Much better than I expected. I have just a faint memory of the original story. I've never seen the original film but have read the story in book a long time ago when I was a little girl. Without spoiling too much of it, the new movie tells a completely new and different story to the original version but in a good way in my opinion. I think it makes the plot more interesting and sentimental. Angelina Jolie looked incredible and her performance was excellent! So glad to see her back in the big screens. I think she was the perfect actress for this role. Maleficient is wicked, dangerous, and beautiful at the same time. Do check it out if you haven't already. 

I've been pampering my nails for the past couple weeks with these manis. I feel so proud of myself! 

Currently, what I'm sporting on my nails is this vibrant Orange Pink shimmer gradient look with a few sprinkles of purple glitters. I made use of the new Revlon Electric Chrome Spiderman Collection polishes for these nail looks. This nail look makes me think of a tropical cocktail drink. 

Product Used:

• I did 2 coats of Revlon Electrified Web on all my nails. 
• Once that dried, I used the sponge technique to create the pink orange gradient by using Revlon Gwen's Crush, focusing it more on around the cuticles. 
• I added one coat of Sally Hansen Big Shiny Top Coat.
• I spread a few purple glitters on the top portion of the nail bed using Orly FX Can't Be Tamed.
• I finished off with another coat of Sally Hansen Big Shiny Top Coat.

Last week, I sported this black gold lace pattern on my nails. Initially, I wasn't planning on stamping anything on it but once I got the gold all over my nails, I felt like it was just too much and needed to tame it down so the black was a nice contrast and made the nails look more elegant.

Product Used:

• I started off with one coat of Sally Hansen Triple Strong as my base
• I painted one coat of Revlon 1000 Volts on all my nails.
• I used one of the stamping plate I got from Bundle Monsters (from Amazon.com). It has this lacy pattern that also reminded me of easter egg patterns. With my Konad black special polish, I stamped the pattern all over my nails. 
• I finished the look with Sally Hansen Big Shiny top coat. 

Memorial Day Weekend Haul

Hey lovelies,

I was working on this post last night and I fell asleep on my chair! lol. I woke up with a very sore neck and crawled straight to bed. 

So I did some shopping this past holiday weekend. I really don't feel like I got much at all but dang at the end of the day, things add up. 

YSL Dare to Glow Silky Highlighting Veil Fatal Red. Ok, I honestly did not need this but I was shopping at the outlets (DF & CCO) and the price was reduced to $11.75 and it just seemed too good to pass. If you're into rose gold, you'll like this.

Clinique Fresh Bloom 13 Plum Poppy Blend ($20.75). I purchased it from the CCO. Yes, didn't need another blush but this one is unlike anything I have so I feel justified to add it to my collection, lol. It's a beautiful mauve rose shade with very subtle pink shimmers. Anyways...more on this when I do my review :)

Estee Lauder Pure Color Cyber Lilac ($17.00). So I returned the Estee Lauder Pure Color Stay On Shadow Paint Fuchsia and exchanged it for this pressed single eyeshadow in the shade Lilac. Gorgeous color, silky texture, and great pigmentation. Ok will do a review when I get a chance.

Bare Minerals loose eyeshadow pigments, 3 for $15.00 at the Bare Minerals outlet store. Yes, they can get messy but I love how luxurious these eyeshadows feel compared to other more affordable loose pigment eyeshadows. I was so tempted to buy 2 ready palettes that were on sale for about $35.00 together, but I managed to control myself. 

Aldo Vedessana ($50.00). I wasn't really looking for shoes but I found two pairs that I really like. This one is a gorgeous cobalt blue color with gold chain trimming on the sole.

Aldo Lafary ($40.00). These nude rose strappy sandals are just too cute to pass. These are also very comfy and have padded soles.

Michael Kors Monogram Logo rose gold metallic purse. We now have an MK Outlet store and I scored this baby at an additional 40% off so roughly about $140.00. It's the first thing that caught my eye when I walked into the store and I knew right away I had to have it. Not too big or too small, just big enough to carry the necessities! It also comes with a detachable strap.

Express black and gold buckle bracelet ($22.90). My son wanted more dress shirts and he likes the ones from Express because they fit him better so while we were there, I spotted this adorable bracelet. It was on sale for 40% off at the time. 

I'm pleased I didn't buy too much makeup and super excited with the new purse and shoes. 

Milani Color Statement Lip Liner 08 Fuchsia and 04 All Natural - Swatch and Review

I picked these up a while ago when Milani was BOGO 50% off at CVS. I typically don't use lip liner much but in some cases, I know they are necessary when you want to prolong the wear of your lip color and prevent feathering. But on a typical day, I usually skip them.


Packaging

• Traditional pencil that requires sharpening. Packaging color matching the lip color and gold accent cap and lettering. 
• 0.04 oz or 1.14 g

Product

• Fuchsia is more of a medium toned down fuchsia / berry color.
• All Natural is a medium nude with a more of a cool brown undertone. 
• These lip pencils quite impressed me when I first swatched them. They are very creamy and pigmented. Something I am not used to when it comes to drugstore lip liners. They don't drag or pull and apply nice and smoothly. 
• You could wear these alone and all over your lips for a nice matte lip color if you wanted to but even though it is creamy, it isn't hydrating so I would suggest a good lip balm underneath. 
• They give my lips a nicely defined edge and prolong the wear of my lipstick.

Final Thought

If you're tired of dried and poorly pigmented drugstore lip liners, you must check out these new Milani Color Statement Lip Liners because they're pretty much all I ever wanted in a lip liner...smooth, creamy, and pigmented formula. Love it!

Rating: 10/10

Price: $3.88
Availability: Milani, CVS,

Fuchsia

All Natural

Zoya Monet

Monet has a very sheer lavender base with medium size iridescent glitters that shifts from blue to orange and green. The glitters look enchanting and very reflective in the bottle but they look less vibrant over a colored base. I find the clear base slightly thick but it picks up a good amount of glitters. You'd have to dab the glitters around in order to spread them out evenly. I like it but it feels a little plain. What do you think?

one coat of Monet over Orly Charged Up

NYX Butter Lipsticks, Pops, Hot Tamales, and Licorice - Swatch and Review

Hello lovelies,

I'm getting ready to head out to do some shopping, yay! lol. Before I do so, I'll leave you with this overdue review.

Packaging

• I'm a bit surprised they came out with similar packaging to the matte lipsticks. Considering they have a different formula, I would have liked it better if the packaging was different. Nonetheless, I suppose it's what's inside that counts. 
• .16 oz or 4.5 g

Product

• Pops is a medium/light mauve rose. So simple and easy to wear for a daytime look. 

• Hot Tamales is vibrant orange red. Wow look at that! So bold. Perfect for an avant-garde makeup look. I love it. It also feel creamier than the other two shades and stains.

• Licorice is a dark plum/wine color. I was hoping it'd be a bit darker and similar to how it looks in the tube but it's redder and a bit lighter than I anticipated. Wear it with a light eye makeup for a classy look or a smoky eye look for a rocker chic/emo look. This shade stains also. 

• The lipsticks are nicely pigmented. Particularly the darker shades. 
• They feel smooth and creamy yet not slick or slippery. 
• They are creamy enough to apply without pulling or dragging but they offer no moisturizing at all. You definitely do need a good lip balm with these. 
• I get about 4-5 hours of wear with pops and 5-6 hours of wear with Hot Tamales and Licorice.
• They are unscented

Final Thought

I would have been happier if these felt more hydrating but on the flip side they are creamy and nicely pigmented, don't smell or taste funny, and last fairly long. I'm quite pleased with the colors I picked but I wished they had a bit more variety of colors that aren't so similar to what we normally see. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Price: $6.00
Availability: Ulta, NYX 

Forever 21 Confetti Nail Color Pink/White and Mint/White

Yesss! I'm finally able to catch up on reviews and swatches and it feels awesome! Although I already know I'm going to be super busy again next week.

Don't you just love how creative Forever 21 is with their nail lacquer names? I do love how inexpensive they are though but I think they increased the price with a dollar more. I believe they used to be $2.80 a pop and now they are $3.80 with a new and bulkier packaging. I find that large squared cap not ergonomically friendly.

In Mint/White, the mint glitters appear to be all the same size, whereas the white glitters come in small and larger size. The base is clear, not too thick or thin and pick up a fair amount of glitters though you would need to dab them around to spread them evenly. I did one coat on the swatch below.

In Pink/White both colors come in small and larger glitters. I love how the fuchsia pink brings a bright pop of color over a dark base. The base is clear, not too thick or too think and picks up a fair amount of glitters. Also you will need to use the dabbing technique to spread the glitters evenly. On the swatch below, I used two coats of glitters.