Two Great Nail Colors & Happy New Year!

Hey Lovelies!  I just wanted to share swatches of a couple of drugstore nail polishes. 

The first is called Taunting Teal by Sonia Kashuk, which you can find at Target stores.  It's a dark, true teal with no shimmer.  Gorgeous!  The second color is Hard Candy's Mushroom, which can be bought at Walmart, and also comes with a matching plastic puffed heart ring.  Mushroom is a dark brownish-taupe and can sometimes look a little more mauve-ish or a little more taupe-ish, depending on the lighting.  Mushroom ended up being my OPI Over the Taupe "close enough dupe", since I couldn't find it anywhere!

So New Year's is coming up and I want to wish my readers a very happy and safe New Year.  My resolution is to make more use of what's lying around - like makeup or nail polish I hardy touch, little sample packets that have been sitting around forever, clothes and shoes that have been neglected, or whatever beauty or non-beauty item that's laying around the house and needs more attention.  (Not to mention the tons of swatches I've been meaning to do!)

Once again, Happy 2011!

Review: HARD CANDY Reawakens at Walmart

Remember when Hard Candy used to be sold in department stores or Sephora? Well, the line is now offered at Walmart at a more affordable price, and if you're lucky enough to find a display that isn't ravaged - like mine was - you'll see that they have a wide range of products, such as eyeshadow palettes, baked eyeshadow duos, lipsticks, glosses, nail polish, blushes, bronzers and eyeliners. They also had body glitter, a tinted moisturizer (?), a double-ended loose eyeshadow stick, and some metallic shadestick thingy. There was something called "Eye Tattoo" but I wasn't too sure what that was - something like an eyeshadow on a sheet that you rub onto your eye. The prices ranged from about $5 to $10 and Hard Candy does not test on animals.

JUST NAILS Nail Color

This deep and mysterious blackened emerald green with lighter green shimmer is called Envy, and I envy it so. The polish went on a little streaky on the first two strokes, but after that it was quite pigmented and very smooth (I used two coats in the swatch). All the nail polishes ($5) come with a plastic ring shaped either like a hemisphere or a puffed heart (I wish Envy came with a heart-shaped one). They have a small selection of glittery finishes, cremes and shimmers. Their polish contains Formaldehyde Resin, which some people like to stay away from so that can be a con. Each nail polish contains 0.35 fl. oz., which is less than your usual 0.5 fl. oz. =/

I have to go back and get this peachy-pink color with golden shimmer. I had it in my hands but decided to put it back. I hope it's still there!

MOUTHING OFF Sheer Lip Shine

• PRICE: $6
• AMOUNT: 7.5 g or 0.26 oz
• APPLICATOR: Sponge-tip
  
• OPAQUENESS: Sheer, as the product states
• TEXTURE: Smooth and moist without feeling oily; absolutely NOT STICKY like MAC Lipglasses
• SMELL: Vanilla, like MAC Lipglasses
• SHININESS: Almost as shiny as a MAC Lipglass
• PACKAGING: Cardboard handle and bottom, which I didn't notice at the store because it was shrink-wrapped, but it has a waxy coating. I don't like how the bottom of the tube is covered with the cardboard because I won't be able to tell how much product is left.
• LIPGLOSS FINAL THOUGHTS: If you like MAC Lipglasses minus the stickiness, then go and get these Hard Candy ones. But remember, these are very sheer (like a lot of MAC Lipglasses, anyway) and look better over lipsticks. I wish they were more opaque but I would definitely try out another color.
• FINAL GRADE: B, if it were more opaque, I'd give it an A. But I can't complain about something being sheer when it's advertised as such.

Gossip is a sheer peachy-pink with golden shimmer, like a light Expensive Pink eyeshadow in a tube. When blended out, the color is sheerer than in the pic.

IN THE SHADOWS Eyeshadow Collection

SPECS

• PRICE: $7
• AMOUNT: 8 g total
• PRODUCT: A palette of 5 shadows with a mini-sized primer
• PACKAGING: Cardboard with a shiny coating, hidden magnetic closure, small double-ended sponge tip applicator (the good kind like in NYX trios), see-through plastic film window, has small elastic band to hold primer to the palette
  
• PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: "This ensemble sizzles with five pigment drenched, blendable shades. Shadow primer is a superbly effective way to instantly eliminate creasing, fading and smudging." (Yeah, right.)

Ingredients (Click to enlarge)

Notice the embossed design

PRIMER REVIEW

• AMOUNT: 4.3 ml or 0.14 oz
• TEXTURE: Like a watery, starchy glob. It dries clear but basically leaves a sticky, tacky residue on your lid and takes a long time to dry.
• SMELL: Kind of like when you mix water and flour together, or water and cornstarch. I don't like it.
• INGREDIENTS: Water-based; click picture below
• CREASING: Definitely did not help with creasing because after 3 hours of wearing this alone on my lids, the colors creased and practically disappeared off my lids. It did not crease when I used it as a base over TFSI (Too Faced Shadow Insurance). That's why I love TFSI on my oily eyelids!
• MAKING COLORS POP: In the swatches below, it actually made the first two colors look better than on the other two bases, but I think that was only because it was still somewhat wet when I swatched the shadows over them. It's better than nothing but it's not the best base to make your eyeshadows pop. I used the primer under some other drugstore eyeshadows and it just did ok. I really don't like using it and it will probably just sit in my drawer.
• PRIMER FINAL GRADE: C, I'm not going to use it again

Click to enlarge

EYESHADOW REVIEW - VICE PALETTE
Pictured from bottom to top

• COLOR DESCRIPTIONS: 1) shimmery, taupey-silver, 2) shimmery mid-tone warm purple, 3) matte light beige, 4) shimmery light mint green, 5) shimmery dark steely gray
• TEXTURE: I love the smooth texture and the product easily gets into the bristles of your brush, but wait for the pigmentation comments...
• PIGMENTATION: A major disappointment for the first two colors, especially the purple. The matte light beige is what it is, so I can't really complain about that one. The most pigmented color is the dark gray, followed by the mint. It's a 2 out of 5 for me. You'll definitely need to use a better base like a cream shadow or shadestick to bring out the colors.
• VICE PALETTE FINAL THOUGHTS: I wish I could return it and get my $7 back. LoL! But since the dark gray was nicely pigmented, I wonder if the other palettes with the darker bronzey colors would be more pigmented than this palette. These colors are fairly light, you know.
• VICE PALETTE GRADE: C-, but if you like softer colors, you may like it. Otherwise, pass on by!
  

The HC Primer isn't that good, even though the first two colors look better than on the other two primers. The primer was still a little wet when I swatched the shadows, so maybe that's why. Plus, I kept packing on those first two colors to make them show up.

Even over my trusty Scandalous Eyeshadow Magnet, the first 2 or 3 colors are so washed out.

Finger swatches are so misleading. That's why I don't do them!

HARD CANDY OVERALL

Did I mention that I love the designs on the packaging? The lipsticks have tattoo-like designs on them and I was going to buy one called Perfect, but decided to wait on someone else's swatches before I buy more Hard Candy. I just wish that the Vice Palette was more pigmented because I love the packaging and the idea that it came with a mini primer. Most of the items on my display were completely gone, so I hope you find a well-stocked one. Well, for now, I'll be going back for more nail polish!

Have you tried any new Hard Candy stuff?

I found my old skool HC Jewel Box from 4 years ago...hardly touched. Tsk.

For updates, sneak peeks at upcoming posts and random pics, follow me on my new Twitter account: @lady_lostris

UPDATE: I got two more polishes...yay! I think the rings are size 7.

Copyright © 2009 Lady Lostris

New Mascara: Maybelline Lash Stiletto

I was thumbing through the Sunday ads and came across a new mascara called Lash Stiletto. I love the slim tube that's shaped like a stiletto heel! I always hate when mascara tubes are big and fat. This one looks very sleek and this seems to be a lengthening mascara. After checking out the Maybelline website and not finding the product there, I did a little Googleing and found out that it's supposed to stretch out your lashes and add a patent gloss. It comes in three colors: Very Black, Soft Black and Brownish Black. I'd run out and get it if I didn't already buy Max Factor Volume Couture, which I haven't even opened yet.

*UPDATED* Tabletop Storage

A buddy has been added to my existing tabletop storage. This 5-drawer Sterilite unit used to be $6.97 at Walmart but can you believe that it's exactly $8.00 now? When does Walmart ever end a price at an even dollar? It's always .97 or .98 cents. Anyway a $1.03 price hike is HUGE for Walmart. I don't believe the first drawers I got were purchased on sale either.


I reorganized the two drawers in the black unit. The top drawer has about two layers of lipsticks.

The bottom drawer are most of my lipglosses with wand applicators. There's some Cover Girl Wetslicks & Max Factor (my faves) on top.

Then jumping over to the new drawers. More lipglosses in tubes and pots as well as lipliners and lip brushes. You should keep a separate sharpener for your lipliners. Do you see that discontinued Stila Rose Shine? That's one of my all times faves but it had the worst packaging ever!

Some eyeshadow bases, Jane Be Pure Mineral Gel eyeliner and a Sephora eyelash curler with a slide out lash & brow comb.

Eyeshadows I hardly use. There's a Rimmel quad, Maybelline e/s and a Clinique Bonus palette underneath.

Eyeliners, a separate sharpener for them, elf Studio products (review on the way), a Jane e/s palette (black rectangle) and a Physician's Formula baked e/s trio (I really like this).

Finally, the bottom drawer has some false eyelashes which I don't use too often, DUO dark tone glue and my EDM foundation brush.

Top view

I promise to show what's underneath the table too. =)

Need More Space?: Tabletop Storage

I've had this setup for a while now. These were both from Walmart and the white unit was under $7 while the black unit was under $4 or $5 if I remember correctly. I needed these for extra storage since my train cases weren't sufficient anymore. I recently reorganized these items and there's more stuff underneath this table on shelves. But that's another story. =) I lined the bottom of the drawers with non-slip padding and also the bottom of each unit to prevent slippage.

I love the back compartment on the top of this. It's the perfect place to put my most often used lippies. Under the flip-top lid is where I put my MAC Colorforms brushes, my concealer palette, EDM Baby Kabuki, custom foundation mixes & my Clinique compacts that have the powder washed out of the pans. I use these to tap in my mineral powders from sample jars and then I can dip my brushes in them. (Oh and those are not passwords on the yellow Post-It note. LoL. They're just shortened book titles)

Two layers of lippies and lip pencils. I have Jordana & NYX lipliners, an NYC lipstick, Revlon Colorstay lipglosses, e.l.f. lipglosses and candy shop tins, Wet & Wild pot glosses, Clinique & Rimmel lipsticks, one Laura Mercier gloss, Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lipglosses underneath and a MAC clear lipglass (which is sticky but the stickier it is, the longer it lasts. It's my fave gloss to put over anything to help make any color last longer. I used to eat Subway sandwiches with this over a lipstick and my lips would still look good after lunch!)

Wet n Wild & NYC eyeliners, some crappy e.l.f. eyeliners, L.A. Colors 6-color palettes, Jane eyeshadow and Be Pure Mineral Gel liner, NYX Diamond Sparkle lippie in Sparkling Dusty Rose, 3 MAC lipsticks & a script brush I got for my gel liner from Michael's, which was only 96 cents. It has a yellow handle.

The white storage unit holds about half of my Everyday Minerals collection. The top drawer houses my foundation samples and a couple concealers on the side.

Second drawer houses extra eyeshadows. You can stack two layers of sample jars or one layer of mini sized jars.

The third drawer contains more eyeshadow. Coffee Break is a blush I use for eyeshadow and in the back are extra empty jars for future use. Now the Revlon Illuminance Creme Eyeshadow palettes you see here have been reused. What happened was that the heat spoiled my creme shadows so I cleaned it out and pressed some EDM eyeshadows in there using a nickel covered with a T-shirt. They came out pretty but matte powders hold up better than shimmery ones when using the alcohol method.

Fourth drawer holds most of my blushes. The ones I use most of the time I filled into sample sized jars and put them into my daily traincase. Then I tap those out into the empty Clinique compacts you saw earlier. It's better that way so you don't contaminate lids with your used brushes. I wash out the Clinique compacts when I'm done. Check out my video on that.

And the fifth drawer on the bottom holds pressed powders, finishing powders, a jar of custom mixed foundation, and what's my one MAC Paint Pot doing there? LOL. This is an EDM storage place only. Hehe. The MAC compacts hold depotted EDM pressed powders. Notice how I put these delicate items on the bottom? I'm a klutz and butterfingers and I tend to drop things. My pressed All Smiles blush is actually shattered. =(

I also have my makeup brushes on the tabletop as well as some random makeup that fit into little glass votive holders that look like shot glasses. I'll try to do pictures of all my other makeup in the future. Hope you enjoyed! =) What does your tabletop look like?