Finally! Orly Cosmic Swatches.

Something I had my eye on was Orly's Cosmic FX Fall 2010 collection. The promo pictures looked insane. The polishes looked like brillant, holographic, duochrome gems. I tend to like my polishes to have a lot of depth and flash (hence why my all time favorite polishes are Essie's Steel-ing the Scene and Duri's Divas Only). Alllacquered posted her swatches!

I knew I wouldn't be coveting a lot of the colors but I was definitely interested. Seeing the photos, I'm a little disappointed because there's only one color I'm getting. Space Cadet definitely caught my eye but the others don't look as multi-dimensional as they do in the promo pictures. Also, the brighter ones are just a little too much for me.

Nails are the only place I do crazy colors with. The rest of my life is pretty monochromatic and boring.

$1 Body Shop Eyeshadows!

So The Body Shop been having a sale and some of their makeup items were on clearance. I was browsing with some friends and saw some eyeshadows on sale. I checked their price tag and both were $1 each (normal price is $12)! I was a little surprised because both were wearable colors and on the warm, neutral side. I snatched both up. They had ever-so-descriptive labels of 02 and 09. Some research told me that 02 is probably Golden Khaki and 09 is Fawn Parfait (but don't quote me on the names). On the official website, 02 and 09 have been removed from the list.

02 (Left) and 09 (Right)

02 is a olive/mossy green with gold shimmer and 09 is a light brown with some pink in it. Both have a bit of a sheen and okay pigmentation. It's a little chalky, though only when you really layer the shadow on. The shadows are really soft and blendable. Great shadows made even better by the price!

I'm pretty tan right now so the skin swatches don't show much. 02 reminds me a little of Urban Decay's Stash 24/7 eyeliner. 09 is a bit nude on my lids but the pink does show up well. I think it would look nice with a dark brown in the crease.

I've only used 02 for an eye look. I blended a little of Wet N' Wild's Idol Eyes Creme Eyeshadow in Graphite (black with a bit of silver shimmer) into the outer corners and into the crease. I blended 02 over top to get a simple smokey look.

Depotting the shadows was super easy (thought a bit foolish on my part since I don't have a palette. Now they're just rattling around in their pans). Just remove the labels (there's quite a bit) in the back until you get to the plastic. There's a hole on the bottom. Just poke through it to push the shadow pan out of the plastic. You'll need a little force since the glue is pretty sticky.

I believe The Body Shop is still having a big sale in their stores and some of the makeup is on clearance. See if there are any more $1 eyeshadows up for grabs.

Don't Believe the Hype!

This tag went around and is still pretty popular on YouTube. I really like the idea so I thought I would do my own (written) version of it.

1) Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero

I have a travel size of it and was so very excited to try it. In the makeup world, so many people have mentioned this is a great, stay-put, creamy, and ultra black liner. My friend actually had the full size version and warned me that it runs. I was convinced it was awesome and bought the Velvet Rope set.

It definitely runs. And it doesn't run in a way that people can tell your black liner is running. On me, it fades as it runs so it turns grey on my undereyes, making it look like I have dark bags. On my lash line, it never really sets so after awhile, I get a grey line on my crease from the eyeliner transferring.

I love the other 24/7 liners I have: Stash, Bourbon, and Yeyo. All stay put, even on my waterline and even after a nap of tossing and turning, and have great color payoff. Zero, the most basic liner, is just a dud.

2) Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy eyeshadow

It's lauded as the cult classic/best seller and it's "snuck" into almost every palette UD comes out with. It's a pretty pink champagne, nudish color with silver glitter.

It's chunky, craft glitter. You can count individual flecks of glitter and the fallout is so bad. The fallout is especially irritating since I wear contacts. It's such a pretty color but it's basically like makeup little girls play with since the glitter is gigantic.

I still use it but I swirl it on my brush and then tap/shake the brush to get the heavy glitter to fall out (which is a bit wasteful).

3) Benefit Benetint

It's so watery and dries so quickly, that even though it's a nice rosy color, you end up with blotchy patches and it's a mother to try to blend it out. It was THE cheek/lip stain but it's so difficult to work with. On the cheeks, it accentuates fine lines and pores. Not pretty.

4) MAC's Lollipop Loving lipstick

Don't get me wrong, I love love love this lipstick. Who would've thought green shimmer was so pretty on the lips? But, in terms of wearability, I'm a little disappointed. The green shimmer is very fine on the lips and since it's a glaze, it's not the most stay put formula. What happens if I eat, drink, touch my lips? Green shimmer every where! When I first had the lipstick, I didn't realize how easy it was to transfer the shimmer so I gave my boyfriend a few pecks on the cheeks and lips. Lucky for him that day I went a little light on the application but in the sun, I saw green shimmer like everywhere.

Funny enough, once the green shimmer separates from the color, it is ridic hard to get rid of.

5) Clinique Dramtically Different Moisturizing Lotion

I got it in a sample size and did not like it. It's fragrance free but I hated the plasticky smell. It wasn't particularly moisturizing or anything special. It left a weird feeling/film to my skin. It just wasn't for me.

Caffeine and Oil Control?

I'm a big fan of coffee, especially Starbucks (probably because of accessibility). If you were walking from one end of my campus to another, you'll find 5 Starbucks (four of them accept points from my university). All in all, you won't have a hard time finding a cup of coffee.

Besides from coffee, Starbucks also has something else great to offer. It's more beauty related and a lot more useful than an overload of caffeine. It's the napkins! I found out about the trick from Makeupalley.com and it really works. It has to be the special, brown, recycled napkins with Starbucks on it. Some of the campus branches don't have the "official" Starbucks napkins so their oil absorbing capabilities aren't all that great. I just blotted my face and the Starbucks napkins work/look like an actual oil blotting sheet. Best thing? They're absolutely free.

I get pretty oily during the day, especially if I have makeup on. Instead of shelling out money for a dinky little packet of Clean & Clear sheets, I just grab a wad of napkins whenever I'm at Starbucks and cut them to size to keep in my bag.

Fun little beauty tips like that make my day. Hope it makes you a little happy too! =)