Tuesday, March 31, 2009

NOTD: China Glaze Raspberry Festival - Summer Days :)



Todays NOTD is China Glaze Raspberry Festival from the summer 09 Summer Days collection (summer is coming, summer is coming...!! :)).

This is a pink/red glass fleck jelly color. It dries to a totally smooth, hi-gloss glistening finish; truly amazing and so unique! It was impossible to fully capture this sparkling beauty with my camera; the sparkles just won't show up as much as they do IRL.
I can't believe how much I really like this one; definitely a keeper for me!
Swatches are three coats with Poshé top coat.


Direct sunlight...



Indirect sunlight...




Have you picked up any Summer Days shades? Aren't they spectacular? Any favorites?

That's all I have for now, see you soon :)

xoxo

Purple/Blue/Grey Tuesday EOTD

Hello there!
Hope your day is going well ;)
Today I did a shimmery blue/purple/grey EOTD using my new The She Space pigments (I'll do a separate post for that haul shortly ;))
I really like The She Space! Such an extensive array of colors, always new exciting products and collections coming out, reasonably priced AND awesome customer service :)

Shade descriptions:
  • Euphoric Madness - Icy electric lavender blue (permanent shade)
  • Take a You Day - Rich purple wine shimmer ("Storypeople" ltd collection)
  • Toys and Trinkets - Sheer super pearl taupe with a hint of charcoal twinkle ("Put it on Ice" ltd collection)

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
The She Space Euphoric Madness - all over eyelid up to brow bone
The She Space Take a You Day - outer 2/3 of lid, middle lower lash line
The She Space Toys and Trinkets - highlight on brow bone and close to tear duct
Barry M Dazzle Dust #11 (dark grey shade) - outer v, crease, wet lined on upper lash line and gently patted on outer lower lash line
Maybelline Colossal Mascara in black

Face:
Earthen Glow Minerals Cover Me Foundation in Pan

Cheeks:
Earthen Glow Minerals Blush in Terracotta Medium
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Shimpagne - highlight on top of cheek bones

Lips:
Isadora Lipliner in Antique Rose
NYX Lipstick in Jupiter
NYX Lipstick in Athena (over Jupiter)




Natural daylight...

Different lighting...




Do you like The She Space? Any favorite shades?

That's all I have for now; me and the daughter are off to a rendezvous with my mother...

xoxo

Monday, March 30, 2009

My First Konad Attempt & Thanks Brooke!

How is Monday treating you? Well, I hope ;)
I recently placed an order with a Swedish e-tailer, and besides two Barry M Dazzle Dusts, I ordered this Konad promo mini kit, since all of you nail gals has gotten me very intrigued with your beautifully "Konadicatured" nails! This was included in the kit...



Bad pic...

Instructions at the back...



This is so funny actually, because on the very same day this kit was delivered, Brooke at Getcha Nails Did had written this super duper educational Konad tutorial for newbies like myself; nice timing indeed miss Brooke #:>
So; I was very eager to try out this nail art fabulousness, and this is the result of my very first Konad attempt:


Sorry about the tip wear, I'd been wearing this mani for two days...


Hmmm; not a very pretty sight, but I guess it could have been worse..? There's a part of the motif missing, and it's a little smeared, but I'll keep practicing for sure. It was fun, and I get so inspired from seeing all this beautiful nail art posted by other bloggers. I should add that I did this first attempt before reading Brooke's tutorial; perhaps it would have turned out perfect should I have done it the other way around ;)

See you all very soon...

xoxo

Off Topic: Check This One Out!

Don't forget to remove that bright nail polish before robbing the bank, ladies... #:>

(click link...)
Boston News







xoxo

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Soft & Simple Sunday FOTD

Another weekend soon to be over...
I don't get it, there you are in Friday afternoon thinking: "finally weekend" and before you know it it's Sunday evening... I don't understand what happens to the time in between ;)
Anyway; I did a really, really simple Sunday look today, it wasn't my intention to put on makeup at all this morning, but since we were having friends over for waffles I still wanted to do a little something in order to look alive... ;)


Shade descriptions:
  • Phloof! - Frosted off-white (Frost)
  • Pixie Paradise - Sheer shimmering lilac with subtle traces of turquoise and lime

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
The She Space Pixie Paradise (from the Astrology collection) - all over eyelid up to brow bone
MAC Phloof! - very lightly on brow bone
Maybelline Colossal Mascara in black

Face:
Earthen Glow Minerals Cover Me Foundation in Cara

Cheeks:
Buff'd Cosmetics Blush in Cosmopolitan

Lips:
Splash Lipliner in Rose Brown
Nouba Lipgloss #9









That's it for now, see you next week... ;)

xoxo

NOTD: Lumene Singing Waves

This is Lumene "Singing Waves". Lumene is a Finnish brand, which here in Sweden has grown very popular over the years, first and foremost with regards to their line of skincare products.
This is a medium aqua shimmer shade, gorgeous if you ask me ;)
Application was very nice. This one is semi-sheer though, so 4 coats were needed to achieve opacity.


Direct sunlight...

Shade...

Partial sunlight...

How do you like this aqua for summer?
Are you familiar with Lumene products?

xoxo

Friday, March 27, 2009

NOTD: Color Club Magic Attraction



Bling with a capital "B"!! Almost hurts my eyes ;)

Todays NOTD is Color Club Magic Attraction from the fall/winter 2008 Glitter Vixen collection. This is a super blingy , holographic silver glitter shade. You know me; I'm a sucker for all things glitzy, and this polish is no exception ;) This one is quite thick and chunky, with large, round glitter particles.
Application was very nice, the glitter distributes evenly, and due to this being a dense polish, two coats are almost more than enough.
The swatches are two coats, no top coat.

The pics are a little blurry, sorry about that... As always, you can click to enlarge them ;)


Direct sunlight...

Slightly different angle...

Partial sunlight...


Do you like glitter and holo polishes too?

See you soon, have grrreat weekend ;)

xoxo

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Chagrin Valley Soap Awesomeness Has Arrived!


Hello dear reader!

Today I want to share with you my latest soap-awesomeness-haul from Chagrin Valley Soap.
Let me start by telling you my entire house is smelling absolutely D-I-V-I-N-E!

I truly like this company and the fabulous products they provide (and, no; I'm not getting paid for saying this ;)). All items are hand made in small batches, which ensures products freshness, and are made with botanical and essential oils, butters, fresh herbs, honey, yogurt and clays, just to name a few ingredients. I really like their holistic philosophy and their environmental awareness (all soaps except for the gift selection are packaged in little bags of recycled paper). None of the soaps contain detergents, synthetic fragrances or colorants, alcohol or animal fats. All products are all natural, and with this company all natural really means all natural. (There is some very good information regarding misleading labels of commercial so called "natural" products on the CV website; highly interesting and educational for anyone to read.) Our skin is the body's largest organ, and it absorbs anything and everything like a sponge, and therefore we need to take into consideration what we put on it...

So, now I bet you are curious as to what was in this awesomeness package.. ;)




Looks delicious? I almost feel like eating them... Seriously! Those bars will last for quite some time; they are HUGE!


Grapeseed Shea complexion soap... Mmm; nothing but divine!
When I tell people I cleanse my face with soap, naturally there are always eye brows raised (at least by women ;)). This is not the harsh ordinary, commercial store bought soap though. These soaps never leave a tight feeling to my face, and they throughly remove all traces of oil, dirt and make up without stripping the skin of its natural oils. They feel rich, elegant and moisturizing to my face. I'll never go back to regular cleansers again...


Of course my four legged best friends should have the opportunity to experience and benefit from all natural products as well! I just got a sample bar of this however, but it will probably last for quite a while; if they like it I'll get them a full sized bar with my next order :)


Smooth as a baby's bottom... This is my baby daughter's very own soap! This is as mild as it gets (made with 100% pure olive oil), and not a single harsh chemical in sight...


Take a moment to read the label. Everything in there are all natural, skin loving ingredients!


This is a shampoo bar soap. Sounds a little strange? I know it did to me when I first heard about it, but those bars really work wonders; I don't even need a separate conditioner anymore! This particular one I tried for the first time last night, and I loved it! Smells so fresh, and produces a soft fluffy lather. My hair feels soft, silky and full bodied today ;) There is a learning curve with the shampoo bars, you can read everything about that and much more on the CV website.


How sweet isn't this? A note on the back of the business card saying "Thank you very much" in Swedish. Highly appreciated!




If you haven't tried Chagrin Valley products, you're really missing out; personally I'll never go back to commercial soaps again. I can highly recommend you to check out their product line.

So; are you a friend of natural skincare too? Have you tried any products from Chagrin Valley Soap?

See you all soon, have a nice day ;)

xoxo

Please note that I am not affiliated with Chagrin Valley Soap in any way, nor is this post endorsed by them. I obviously do love their products however ;)

Monday, March 23, 2009

NOTD: Depend #122

Hi there!
Hope you've had a wonderful weekend :)

Todays NOTD is Depend Cosmetics #122 which is a hot pink shimmer with a purple opalescence. This will be a great summer color for sure!
This one is a little bit on the sheer side; it's definitely a three to four coater if you want bottle color.
The swatches are four coats with Seche Vite as top coat.


Direct sunlight...

Shade...



That's all for now, see you soon :)

xoxo

Friday, March 20, 2009

Fog, Scoria & Phloof! EOTD

Hi gals!

Today I wanted to try one of my new Jenulence matte sample shadows as well as the foundation and one of the blushes that I also ordered at the same time. I've never been into matte shadows before, but I seem to like them better the older I get. I get older?!? WTF? No freakin' way! :)
Anyway; I love the texture of this shadow. When attempting to use matte shadows in the past, I often felt they were hard to apply well; they crumbled easily and/or were a PITA to distribute evenly. This is not the case here however; this one applied like a dream, I'm really impressed!

Shade descriptions:
  • Fog - dark grayish-green
  • Scoria - dark blue green with glimmery lemon and lime highlights
  • Phloof! - Frosted off-white (Frost)
  • Smut - Muted black with red shimmer (Velvet)

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Jenulence Fog - all over eyelid up to brow bone and lower lashline
MAC Phloof! - highlighter, inner part of lid
Cory Cosmetics Scoria - outer v and crease
MAC Smut - wetlined on upper lashline
NYX Doll Eye Mascara (black; volume formula)

Face:
Jenulence Concealer Foundation in Neutral Beige

Cheeks:
Jenulence Blush in Peach

Lips:
Amuse Long Lipliner in Natural
NYX Round Lipstick in Frosted Flakes




Natural daylight...

Natural daylight...


Full on sun...

Flash...

Flash...









What do you think of these colors on me? How do you like the foundation?
What's your take on matte eye shadows?

I wish all of you a great weekend!!

xoxo

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Quietly & Entremauve EOTD

I have caught a terrible cold galore; I can hardly breathe and every time I cough it feels like my chest is going to explode or something :(

Well, at least today I got to play with my new MAC pigments, which cheered me up a little!

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Quietly - all over eyelid up to brow bone
Ben Nye Ice - highlighter, inner part of lid and tear duct
MAC Entremauve - outer v, crease and outer 1/3 of lower lashline
MAC Nightfish - upper lashline
NYX Doll Eye Mascara (black; volume formula)

Entremauve (left) & Quietly (right)

Cheeks:
Earthen Glow Minerals Blush in Medium Rose

Lips:
NYX Round Lipstick in Christie
LA Colors Lipgloss in Baby Pink

Face:
Earthen Glow Minerals Foundation in Paris



And the result....












What do you think of this look?

That's all for now, have a great day :)

xoxo