notd: china glaze some like it haute & hook and line

hi guys! notd time!! i can't remember if i've ever used these two polishes before or not....hmmmm. as my base color, i have 2 coats of hook and line from the hunger games collection (district 4), and on my ring fingers and thumbs i've got an additional 2 coats of some like it haute--with a lot of topcoat to make them glossy. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

also used: opi original nail envy, american international diamond dry top coat, essence dry drops, cnd solar oil

fluorescent light, indoors

sunlight, outdoors

fotd: em new year's countdown life palette moment

hi all! it's sneaux day #3. and i'm puttin this post up here for ya if you're interested. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

shadows swatched from top left to right, blush, sparkling punch, stroke of plum (corresponding names below); shadows swatched over ud original eye primer

impressions:
i'm really excited with how pigmented this palette is. the lip pans not so much--you have to build them up, but the shadows are omg pigmented.

i think, in production, they messed up on my palette... i mean, the names of two lip colors don't even make sense. why would a deep wine shade be called "sparkling" and the glittery gloss not...? but the bottoms of the pans do match what is on the label...idk. it's weird.
--after checking the website, they definitely have the glittery gloss as the #1 lip and the #2 is the wine one... so maybe they just messed up the pans...

happy new year as my lower liner was ok. the glitter doesn't really show up... i'm not sure if i'd use this red on my eyes in this way again or not....my eyes kinda look like a firework exploded...or maybe just like sunset... haha. idk.
teh paul didn't know i was using this set today, came over to say hi but ran away. >.> in person, how i did everything today is very vampy looking for my skintone. it's funny. but whatever, i kinda like it. =P

other products used for fotd:

• eyes
• urban decay primer potion (original)
• elf essential volumizing mascara
• em waterliner in ro's gold
• face
• black radiance complexion perfection primer
• wet n wild coverall foundation in fair/light
• em the great cover up concealer in light neutral/cool
• pixi finishing powder
• the balm mary lou manizer

fotd: em ice bunny life palette moment

hi all! school's canceled again for another set of snow days! so how's this timing, that i get the chance to make this post for ya?! ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

shadows swatched from the top left to right, blush, right then left lips (corresponding names are below); shadows are swatched over ud original eye primer

impressions:
in general, i'm pretty glad that they improved the pigmentation on this mini-palette relative to the day life palette. it's not quite as pigmented as the new year's countdown life palette moment (which, hopefully i can finish up the post for you guys for tomorrow) but it's a big improvement, relatively speaking.

i'm kinda sad that they included parisian nude in this set, considering that this was part of the day life palette as well. as far as the naming convention, it seems like most of the pans in this set are exclusive to this set. so that's kinda nice. but anyway...

lips: dressed up

i was actually pleasantly surprised with how pigmented winter chill and black pumps are, that i could apply them as eyeliner without needing an actual eyeliner. i applied these with a brush that totally got lost in the abyss of my collection that i'd never used before: avon eyeliner brush, which i've become an instant fan of.

other products used:

• eyes
• urban decay primer potion (original)
• covergirl bombshell mascara
• rimmel london eyeliner in nude
• face
• black radiance complexion perfection primer
• benefit oxygen wow foundation in cheers to me champagne
• covergirl 3-in-1 foundation in 825 as concealer
• pixi finishing powder
• the balm mary lou manizer
• too faced chocolate soleil bronzer

urban decay naked3 vs lorac unzipped

hi guys! as promised, here's my side by side comparison of the urban decay naked3 and lorac unzipped palettes. the swatches below are what i think looked very similar, pan-by-pan. but as you'll see they're not as they appear! the only pan in the unzipped palette that didn't seem to be similar to anything in the naked3 was unbridled. enjoy! ~Lin-chan ^.~

unzipped, naked3 swatches -- over ud original primer potion

side-by-side swatch comparisons: (naked3/unzipped) -- all swatches below are dry

strange/undercover, burnout/unreal, liar/unbelievable

limit/unconditional, nooner/unspoken

factory/uncensored, mugshot/unattainable, trick/undiscovered, blackheart/untamed

oct - dec favorites

sorry guys for the delay on my favorites. the winter break was a bit too crazy-hectic for me. school's now started and there's been a lot going on that i haven't been able to keep up. ~.~ anyway, since the fall semester was super hectic--with 12hr days on campus, i don't really have that many favorites. but here's what i've got for ya! ~Lin-chan ^.~

naked3 palette, swatched over ud original primer potion

rosy lips, pepper, smog, underground, chapped hands remedy

• cnd (creative nail design) solar oil (purchased at ulta) -- this feels great! it's a little oily feeling until it's absorbed, which is maybe 5 minutes.. and it smells amazing because of the sweet almond oil. mmmmm.. >w<
• co bigelow chapped hands remedy (purchased at bath & body works) -- i first picked up this hand cream about 5 years ago when i was in art school. one of my classes (intaglio), involved putting printing plates into acid and washing it off, blah blah blah. and it was a fall semester class, with the cold and blehhhh. needless to say, my hands were chapped to the point that they were cracked, sore, red, and almost bled. this was the only hand lotion that didn't burn like hell and it healed my skin in the process. and i still love it to this day! (has a medicinal scent that might be a turnoff for some people, if you can use a tester before buying.)
• vaseline rosy lips -- since i bought this, i've used this nearly every single day. i just love the slight tint it gives, and the scent's not super strong but it's pleasant (and i'm anti-rose or floral scents).
• bite beauty creme lipstick in pepper -- i bought this lipstick because i've been wanting to try one of these forever. and after seeing a blog post by emilynoel83, who has basically the same natural lip color as myself, i was confident in ordering this shade. i was hooked after the first try. it's so comfortable and natural looking on my lips.
• urban decay
• naked3 palette -- this is such a pretty palette for my brown eyes. i think, of the three, this one has been given the most love..and that's pretty crazy considering i've had the other two for a couple years now.. favorites: burnout, buzz, trick, liar, factory, mugshot. i can't wait for these to be released as singles!
• smog liquid liner -- this is such a pretty brownish/greenish-golden shade and i love wearing this over the naked3 palette shadows as my upper liner.
• underground pencil liner -- this is an awesome metallic taupey/rose golden shade, i've been using this as my lower liner with naked3 looks

notd: maybelline blue beats vs. formula x in turbulent

hi guys! i'm finally shellac-free and so i decided to do a swatch comparison of maybelline blue beats and turbulent from formula x for sephora. these are over sally hansen gunmetal. relative to turbulent, blue beats has smaller hex glitter and contains small bar glitter. thumbs, middles, and pinkies have turbulent, pointers and rings have blue beats. ~Lin-chan ^.~

also used: opi original nail envy, american international diamond dry top coat, essence dry drops

nail wheel: blue beats over gunmetal, turbulent, blue beats

it's snowing!!!

so excited that it's snowing today and school's canceled!!! ~Lin-chan ^.~

more photos may be added to this post later if it comes down more. >w<

my car's under a tree, so it's not getting quite as much on it as teh paul's

january hauls & some impressions

 

hi guys! school's canceled..and i may as well reel out some posts while i've got some time! so here you are: hauls for the month thus far, plus a few impressions! ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

  
primer, fair concealer compared to light concealer

kmart/cvs:

• elf makeup remover pen
• loreal nail polish in frieda's nude
• covergirl trumatch concealer in fair
• rimmel matte face primer

mr. positivity, atom + eve, & bond, ionic bond -- over dark matter
atom + eve, mr. positivity, dark matter, bond, ionic bond

walmart

• coty airspun powder in translucent -- i'm kinda concerned that this has a perfume-y smell to it...hmmm...
• ecotools skin perfecting brush & free eye brush -- the skin perfecting brush is what i imagine the wayne goss foundation brush to be, hopefully i can get his brushes sometime soon to try them out!
• maybelline dream wonder powder in classic ivory

sephora

• formula x "the x look" set -- i'm super excited about this set! the glitters (with the exception of the gold) look great over the black and i can't wait to start using them!
• origins super spot remover -- to compare it to clinique spot healing gel
• makeup forever instant brush cleanser -- just to see how it compares to sephora's. this stuff is amazing at getting product out of brushes and dries very fast. the only issue i have with this is that there are barely-detectable fumes from this product that started making me choke. :'(
• freebies: especially escada shimmer powder & peter thomas roth ultimate eye lift gel, pack of post cards with scent samples

 
always pearly pink (swatched dry), almond, flushed, highlighter, blind date

ulta

• nyx matte finish spray, infinite shadow sticks in flushed and almond -- i'm not sure if it's the one i grabbed or not, but the finishing spray has a very chemically smell to it..it's bearable until it fades, but it's weird because i haven't had any problems with ud de slick spray...
• loreal infallible silkissime eyeliner in highlighter (rose goldish), infallible eyeshadow in always pearly pink
• covergirl flamed out mascara and smoochies gloss in blind date -- probably won't get another one of these glosses, the formula's ok, but not really my favorite..
• real techniques silicone eyeliner brush -- just because it sounds interesting, i hear that it's kinda annoying because you have to dip more frequently since it can't hold product..because it's silicone and not bristles....but anyway.
• batiste dry shampoo hint of color dark & deep brown -- i like the effect it gives, but if i use too much in one area or another and don't rub it in good enough, i get weird ash-gray spots on my head..and it turns my fingers and nails an ash-gray color.... i might try one of their regular ones next time..
• earth therapeutics eyelid compress -- this is great! i feel like it stays colder longer than the other masks i bought, which makes sense because the other ones had eye holes..

 
jane concealer in light, liquid liner in graphite



(swatched over ud original primer potion)

ulta.com: i did pretty good with this one; i racked up using the friends & family 20% off code (was through their facebook) and got a 4-hour timed freebie, two gifts with purchase, and bogo half off on jane cosmetics.

• lorac unzipped palette -- super excited to compare this to the naked3, i'll try to get a comparison swatch post up in the next few days.
• simple wipes
• jane concealer in light & liquid liner in graphite -- this concealer is more orange than i thought, but we'll try it out anyway. the liner is more gorgeous than i anticipated, it's a darkened gray with reddish shimmer
• freebies: flawless complexion 5-piece makeup set, sample-filled bag with $10 simple or own purchase, lorac face primer with lorac purchase