The Lust Listt

Sneak Peak: June - Swatch

2012-01-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

Here's another sneak preview of June but as a swatch. Hope everyone has had a good week so far! A full review and HD swatches will be up by the week's end.

Sneak Peak: June

2012-01-25T21:46:00.001-05:00

Chanel Le Vernis - 539 June

I allowed myself to a small dose of retail therapy today. The work/class/study/sleep schedule has been as crazy as it's ever been this semester so it was nice to have some leisure time to myself. I am happy to say that I did not have to shell out exuberant amounts for this polish! Using up the rest of my birthday giftcard to Murale that my lovely roommate gave me last year, I only had to cover a fraction of the cost. What did I pick up? The Le Vernis 539 June of course! Just recently released in Canada from their Spring Collection, this was the only polish that piqued my interest. The other ones just didn't quite scream "buy me, buy me, buy me!". My love for polishes has waned slightly within the past month due to the lack of time to put towards keeping up with the releases, but I do really hope to be able to look into some of the future ones. China Glaze seems to have some promising collections coming out soon! Anyways, enough of my rambling, time to get back to studying! I'll definitely have a review of June within the next week for you guys to read!

Win a BALENCIAGA [fashionchalet.net]

2012-01-22T23:37:00.001-05:00

Enter for a one in a lifetime chance to win a Balenciaga Arena City Classic from the author of blog fashionchalet.net Erika Marie. It's not often that blogs offer the chance to win a perfectly designed bag (it's a dream of mine to own a Balenciaga of my own)! All you have to do is to post about the contest via Facebook, Twitter, Blogger etc. and leave a comment of what you did here! Best of all, the contest is open internationally! Hope everyone takes the chance at this and best of luck to all, fingers crossed! The last day to enter is January 26th, 2012!

Image taken from fashionchalet.net

Long Overdue Post

2012-01-21T18:19:00.001-05:00

Hello world! I have most definitely neglected my blog in the past year. As an apology, I will restart today and promise to update at least once a week! For the re-start, I'll post an outfit that I wore last week. As much as I promise to post on a minimum once weekly, I may every once in awhile skip over a week. My work/school/sleep schedule is really ridiculous this semester so I'm trying to find ways to balance it all out by sleeping any waking moment I have. I hope you enjoy my post for the day! I'll definitely be back within a few days for another post!

white T - Zipia | navy blazer - Aritzia | mustard pants - Forever21 | black boots (not picture) - Steve Madden | polish (hangover) - Urban Outfitters

Haul-extravaganza

2011-04-30T01:51:00.002-04:00

I did some major haulage this month in terms of retail therapy. Probably bought around $100 worth of nail polish alone and quite a bit more damage on clothes and makeup. Here's a quick glimpse of my polish haulage. I'll be doing reviews on mostly all of them if possible. My nails at the moment are in a very damaged state as I started to work in the pool again (it closed for 3 weeks), so the chlorine expire is stripping them all bare. I'll try my best to post up at least one swatch every two days! :)

My first haul is from Sally's Beauty Supply near the beginning of the month. I had intended to go in to see how much of the Tronica collection that I could salvage and unfortunately for me, all of the good ones have already been poached by other polish collectors. Only 4 were left and Virtual Violet being one of them, I quickly snatched it up. I also picked up Dorothoy Who? as soon as I saw it since I missed out during the Wizard of Oz collection as well. Not to mention Re-fresh Mint andI Lemon Fizz each from the Up up & Away collection. Having missed out on most of the new holos, as soon as I saw a holo top coat, Fairy Dust, I just knew that it was meant to be! (Flying Dragon was just one of my lemmings from a long time ago and thought one extra wouldn't hurt).

I don't usually shop at Sally's since it's so far away and out of travel distance from me, so I don't have one of those membership cards. But seeing as it was one of my rare trips to the East end of the city, I thought it would be fit to haul to my heart's content and pick up whatever else I wanted and get a membership card at the same time! Along with the polishes I also picked up acetone that smells like mixed berries when it evaporates (amazing!) and some nail polish thinner (not pictured in post).

China Glaze - Lemon Fizz

China Glaze - Re-fresh Mint

China Glaze - Fairy Dust

China Glaze - Virtual Violet

China Glaze - Purple Dragon

China Glaze - Dorothy Who?

A few weeks later, I was wandering the mall nearest to my house with my friend Cynthia and we both decided to stop by Winners. My original intentions where to pick up some new sheets for my boyfriend but somehow (as always), we wound up in the beauty section looking at nailpolish, hair products and perfume. OPI for a steal? That's almost never what you see where I live! I just knew that it was meant to be as well! Out of the few that were on sale, I picked up Oh So Glam! and You Don't Know Jacques - Matte. I didn't know that You Don't Know Jacques was matte at the time when I picked it up and only found out after I did swatches when I got home. Not a big problem though seeing as it can be easily solved with a topcoat.

OPI - Oh So Glam!

OPI - You Don't Know Jacques - Matte

My last polish purchase was Chanel's Morning Rose from their new Spring Collection 2011. I've been stalking the internet for swatches ever since the launch dates and promotional pictures were posted. Mimosa may be the most lemmed (sp?) shade for the summer, but yellows just don't cut it with my skin color and always makes me look extremely sallow even when pastel. I know I just purchased a yellow from China Glaze, but $5 is just so much easier to justify with myself then $26 is.

Chanel - Morning Rose

That's all that I've purchased for this month polish wise and I feel like I've way exceeded my monthly limit to last me for awhile. I'm anticipating the June release of OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection and so far every shade looks absolutely gorgeous! Retailing for over $70 here, I might as well start saving up for it. Sigh, more money to spend...

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post where purchased by myself for the use and review purposes. My opinions are honest and are not influenced in any way at all. I was not sponsored for this post.

[SWATCH] China Glaze - Tronica; Virtual Violet

2011-04-29T23:51:00.007-04:00

I absolutely love holographic nail polishes and I'm sad to say that I came into the game after the kaleidoscopes came out and missed out on those. The only other one that I have is China Glaze OMG (the holographic silver) which has striated holographic particles in it. When I tried to get ahold of some of the polishes from the Tronica collection, I was yet again too late and most had already sold out. The only ones left where the paler ones and Virtual Violet which I immediately grabbed as it was the last one on the counter. The Tronica collection is a set of polishes with a scattered holographic pattern which works best in direct sunlight, as with most all other holos.

Virtual Violet is an intense rich purple that when in the sun, reflects a multitude of colors. Holo polishes definitely lift and drag when applying so it's best to wait till each coat is completely dry before putting on the next. I also found with this one that a base coat made the first layer extremely uneven and splotchy. So your best bet would be to skip the base coat for these and go straight with the nail polish. Although you do have to wait for holos to dry before adding more coats, my experience showed to me that holos dry extremely fast.

Myself being obssessed with not having and VPL (visible nail line) I always apply 3 coats of whatever polish I'm using regardless if opacity is surpassed with the second coat. However for Virtual Violet, you can almost get away with it being completely opaque even with just one coat. In doing so, I only needed two coats per nail to achieve the color that you see below. And as always, I seal my manicures with a fast dry top coat.

China Glaze - Virtual Violet

I absolutely love this color and even though it wasn't the striated holographic polish that I sought after this one shines just as much in the sunlight. For anyone that appreciates and easy application and beautiful results, I'd definitely recommend you getting your hands on Virtual Violet.

Apologies

2011-04-28T23:48:00.001-04:00

Incredibly sorry for absolutely no updates or posts in this blog since the beginning of the month. My finals completely took over my life this entire month and I failed to keep up with my goal of bi-daily posts. Since summer has officially started for me today, I'll be trying my best to do so. In the meantime to keep my blog happily posted, here's a very small collection of a couple of my most recent manicures this month. Usually I do about at least 1-2 a week totally to 5-8 a month but because of my hectic schedule I was only able to squeeze in 3.

OPI - Nail Envy

China Glaze - Virtual Violet

Seche Vite - Fast Dry Top Coat

OPI - Nail Envy

China Glaze - Dorothy Who?, Fairy Dust

Seche Vite - Fast Dry Top Coat

OPI - Nail Envy

Chanel - Morning Rose

Seche Vite - Fast Dry Top Coat

Starting tomorrow or maybe even tonight if I feel motivated enough, I'll have another post up :) For now, have a good night!

[SWATCH] Rock & Republic: Saturate Eye Color - Exile

2011-04-02T17:45:00.001-04:00

For my second installment of the Rock & Republic eyeshadow swatches, I chose Exile. So for a quick recap, I bought these off of Hautelook for $8.40 USD ~~$24.00 USD~~ each and they each come with 0.11oz/3g of product. Each eyeshadow is encased in a weighty solid plastic/metal container and are housed in black cylindrical packaging. The company logo is embossed anywhere to be found and all of the information on the product is found on the lower portion of the packaging and on the lower portion of the container. The eyeshadow flips up to reveal a mirror on the side with a plastic protective sheet covering the shadow.

The eyeshadows when swatched are very silky, smooth and glide onto the skin with much ease. Although they applied fairly pigmented dry, the colors became ever much more so prominent when applied with primer or wet.

Exile is a soft rose-gold copper base with many gold micro-shimmers. It's a beautiful neutral shade that can be used all over the eyelid or on the inner corners and lower lid as a highlight. I'd definitely recommed this color for first time shoppers of the cosmetics line as it is very easy to work with and not much blended is required to smooth out the color. Below are swatches when applied dry, with primer and wet. Enjoy!

Exile - Flash

Exile - No Flash

Swatches w/ Wet, Primer, Dry

Swatches w/ Dry, Primer, Wet

Purple Patchwork Manicure

2011-03-31T21:20:00.001-04:00

I've been reading Chloe's Nails quite a bit lately and I ca absolutely say that I love her blog! I was extremely happy to find someone else with the same passion for scotch tape as me and also found some very simple but gorgeous manicures done by her as well. Here are my nails for the work, inspired by her work, a purple patch work manicure. Simple, quick and easy to do. I haven't had much time as of late because of all the midterms, labs, assignments and lab exams that I've had to prepare so I opted for something that wouldn't be as time consuming but would still render a nice manicure! So here it goes! For the design, I used OPI's - Do You Lilac It? as the base coat, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Problem Child, OPI - Mad as a Hatter and Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat.

[SWATCH] Rock & Republic: Saturate Eye Color - Tempting

2011-03-30T01:42:00.002-04:00

I feel like I have failed in the bloggosphere aspect for posting blogs on a more constant basis. I promised swatches from my Rock & Republic Saturate Eye Color eyeshadows that I hauled from Hautelook a few weeks back. So of course, more apologies from me once again and today I shall present you with my very first swatch, Tempting!

First off, let me start off with the package. Slightly excessive but beautiful at the most! Each eyeshadow came separately packaged in back lacquered cylinders. The lids are sealed with black circular stickers each embossed in silver with the eyeshadow shade. The bottom of the container says that each eyeshadow hs 0.11oz/3g of product. Quite the amount I should say! I purchased these for $8.40 USD each on Hautelook and it's safe to say that for half the price of a MAC eyeshadow and twice the amount of product I definitely cannot complain.

When the eyeshadows are removed from their packaging, below is the Rock & Republic logo embossed in a criss-cross pattern on the bottom part of the package.

The first thing that you see when you open up the packaging is the lid of the eyeshadow container. It has a very large Rock and Republic logo in 3D on the lid in very shiny silver and the background of the logo is also a glazed black plastic. The underside of the eyeshadow container has basically the same information as the bottom part of the outer packaging. The container itself is fairly weighty and makes it feel luxurious and has a quality feel to it as well.

Tempting itself is a very gorgeous purpley, grey, taupey shade that has multifaceted shimmer to it. As you've probably all heard before, the powder of the eyeshadow is very finely jet milled and upon swatching it, it felt like I was touching powdery silk. The eyeshadow glided on very smoothly in one application and it is very pigment as well.

Tempting - Flash

Tempting - No flash

I made swatches of the eyeshadow in comparison to how well it applies, dry, with a primer and wet. It works perfectly fine by itself dry but with a primer and wet, the color is much more pigmented. I definitely recommend this shade if you're interested in trying out the Rock & Republic Cosmetics line but unsure as to what shade to try first. This shade is very safe but very flattering and simple at the same time. It can easily be worn from day to night and with a little bit of eyeshadow it can create a very dramatic look.

Swatches w/ Flash {Dry, Primer, Wet}

I hope you guys enjoyed this half efforted written post that I whipped up in a few minutes and that it was semi-decent. I'll try my best to post up another swatch tomorrow night to compensate for the lack of swatches and posts this week. Have a good night! :)

Sneak Peak

2011-03-26T00:49:00.000-04:00

My sincerest apologies for not posting up any reviews of the Rock & Republic Saturate Eye Colors the past few days. I blame it solely on the midterms that are swamping me for the next few days. In return, I'll show you guys a sneak peak of the the colors that I ordered look like so you can know what to expect! All of the colors are absolutely gorgeous and I can't be any happier of the quality of them :) Enjoy!

Rock & Republic Saturate Eye Colors {Twisted, Tempting, Alloy, Exile, Affair, Provocative $8.40 USD/each} - Normal lighting

Rock & Republic Saturate Eye Colors {Twisted, Tempting, Alloy, Exile, Affair, Provocative $8.40 USD/each} - Flash

Obsession with Michael Kors

2011-03-19T22:10:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning and hour after my lab started so I was in a pretty foul mood. Went straight to school and met up with some people during our break and they decided to go to the mall to eat lunch and walk around a bit before our next class. Before we headed back to class I decided to stop by Michael Kors to check out some wallets. I'm not trying to spend more money on purpose, my current is actually slowly falling apart and I've been using the same one for the past 4 years so I think I legitly deserve a new one no? So I went in and saw this one first:

{MICHAEL Michael Kors Jet Set Continental Wallet in Navy $150}

I currently own a zip wallet which I love to death as it provides me with multiple compartments to separate all of my receipts, credit cards and other miscellanious items that I must seem to store in there. The zip also makes sure that nothing falls out (I hate when lose things from my wallets!). I don't even know why I went with navy, usually I go for neutral colors such as beige, tan, brown, white and black. I guess it was probably the fact that I don't own anything in navy that caused me to gravitate towards this one. Honestly though, it's a gorgeous color! The only let down is the fact that the leather is extremely hard and feels almost to the point plasticy. I found one that was softer but the design was completely different and without an overall zip so not even one to contemplate!

{MICHAEL Michael Kors Jet Set Continental Large Tote in Navy $238}

I didn't quite catch the price on this one because I didn't have time to look at it much before I had to leave. This tote actually caught my eye on the way out and I had to elucidate the price from the store catalogue that I took with me with I left to peruse. Once again, gravitating towards navy instead of something neutral. I really don't know what about this color that attracts me so much to it! It just looks so fresh and clean! I already have so many totes though that this definitely won't be at the top of my wishlist anytime soon.

{MICHAEL Michael Kors Charlton Demi Tote in Navy $150}

This adorable clutch also caught my attention when I was looking through different colors in the Jet Set Continental wallet. Once again I was pulled towards the navy color but I couldn't manage to find that shade online so this black one will have to do for now. I usually carry a lot around with me wherever I go so this clutch definitely won't suffice. And I just can't seem to justify spending more than $80 on a clutch when I already have a Coach ones already in my possession. So not on my wishlist either!

{Very Hollywood Rollerball & Lipgloss Duo $25}

My friend was peeking around the accessories at the check out counter while I mulled over wallets and happened upon these adorable little things! As the name states, one end is a lipgloss while the other end is a roller ball of the Very Hollywood Eau de Parfum. I absolutely love anything coral tinted (I have a huge obsession with coral and turquoise) so the lipgloss shade was perfect! Not to mention that the perfume was already on my length list of perfumes that I adore, this duo is perfect to carry with me in my bag! Not a necessity, but probably something I might consider purchasing in the future if I have some extra money.

{Very Hollywood Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz $85}

This perfume is already apart of my wishlist as I previously said above but just wanted to show you this anyways since it IS my Michael Kors obsession haha.

{MICHAEL Michael Kors Croco Headband in Black ~~$60~~ $29.99}

This! I've been on a headband rage lately because of my acne flareups. If my face is gong to be fugly, I might as well get something pretty to hold up my hair why not? I search everywhere on the internet but couldn't find an image of this headband in black so just imagine the picture above but instead of it being beige, the entire headband is black! I was hesitant about the headband at first because it IS Michael Kors after all and everything is expensive right? Wrong! It was on sale for $29.99! When the sales associate told me this, the gears in my head started to turn and almost stopped working because they were turning so fast from excitement. I'm definitely going to be picking this up when I get my next pay cheque and hopefully it's still going to be on sale and in stock!

Am I obsessed with Michael Kors, yes yes very much. Can I afford all of my obsessions, no not so much. Sadly all that I know for sure that will be within my posession by the end of this month is the headband. The rest is tentative until I have enough money which probably isn't going to be anytime soon haha. I hope you guys enjoyed my obsession post and that I didn't overdue it! Next up will be my review of one of the Rock & Republic Saturate Eyeshadows, which one you ask? Wait and see! ;)

Beautiful Dreams

2011-03-18T11:28:00.004-04:00

{Credits given to the respective owners of images}

[TEASE] Hautelook - Rock & Republic Cosmetics Haul

2011-03-17T22:55:00.001-04:00

Hoorah! The mail gods have answered my pleas! I arrived home this evening to a lovely package sitting on the kitchen table!

I had to refrain myself from opening the box and tearing the packaging apart so that I could take pcturesfor you all to see. Haha I admire my restraint after waiting for the package to arrive for so long! I also documented the unboxing process so that you guys could see the care taken into making sure that my order arrived safely without any damages. They bubble wrapped the package to ensure that it wouldn't bump on the sides while being tossed around in the back of mail vans/airplane/truck however it was brought to me and then the package itself was spread out to evenly distribute the weight inside and wrapped in tissue paper. My receipt was placed on top of the products but it was slightly crumpled. Not my main concern though as long as everything else comes out undamaged!

Nestled inside under all of the wrapping I found my lovely 7 containers! I'm definitely a sucker to packaging and this one pulled me in deeply. I love the shiny black finishes on the boxes and the logo embossed in silver on the lids. All containers are sealed shut with circular stickers identifying the shade of the product, two in total, one on either opposite sides of the lid. The Exhibition Pressed Powder is significantly larger than the Saturate Eye Colors but that's to be expected. I definitely didn't expect the sizes of either products to be this large! It's safe to say that I definitely adore the products at first glance which isn't going to be healthy since Hautelook is having another Rock & Republic sale this Monday the 21 so be prepared! I smell another large haul in the near future! Within the next few days, I'll have swatches posted of all of the products so you guys will get a chance to see if they really do hold up to their reputations.

I hope that I was able to excite you guy for the time being until I upload reviews ;)

P.S. As had previously mentioned, Hautelook is having a sale for Rock & Republic Cosmetics this Monday, March 21. I suggest you guys check out the selection of blushes available from the company and their respective swatches so that you guys know before hand which ones interest you. That way when the sale starts you can snatch those ones up right away seeing as blushes are their most popular product and sell out almost instantly! As always, here's my invitation link, you don't have to use it but I'd much appreciate it if you guys did!

http://www.hautelook.com/invite/vickiixtinhy

Crazy Week!

2011-03-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

It's supposed to be March Break for public/catholic school boards here so most of the activities and lessons for after school stuff have been cancelled, including swimming lessons at my pool! I had originally thought that this meant I would get some time off from work and not have too much of a stressful schedule. Instead, I bounced up from 12/hrs a week to 32 hours this week! Almost 3 times the amount of time that I usually work! But it's all okay because it's all going to feed into my unhealthy shopping addiction haha. I woke up this morning at 7:00 AM to rush to work and work from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM, then rush to school. Loooong day if I may say so myself haha. I'm currently enjoying myself a steak dinner that my mom cooked for me and just flipping through some photos that I've taken recently. I'm most likely going to do a review on the MAC Sheen Supreme Lipsticks in Bare Again sometime this week, so expect that to pop up soon!

And on another note before I end this post with a slew of pictures, my R&R Cosmestics order from Hautelook should be at my house by...since yesterday. I checked the tracking number that they provided for me and it clearly says "Expected Delivery: 03/15/2011". Uhhhh today is what, the 16th? Where is my mail! I'm not one to complain about snailmail because I know how long it can take sometimes but come on seriously? Don't tell me that it should be here when it's clearly not! I don't like getting my hopes up! Praying to the mail gods that a package with "Hautelook" printed on it will land on my doorstep tomorrow and be waiting for me when I get home from class!

MAC - Sheen Supreme Lipstick Bare Again

Midterms & Stress Relief

2011-03-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

I've definitely been lacking on my posts lately so I've decided that it would be nice to just take this "filler" post (haha I kid) to talk about what's happened lately. I haven't had much sleep whatsoever at all this week, probably the most is about 4 hours a night for the entire week on average. Mostly due to the fact that I had 3 midterms, lab reports to do and meetings to attend. I really should have gotten all of this started a long time ago, especially during reading week, but I guess silly me, I wasn't smart enough to do that. The midterms that I had this week were Animal Form and Function (BIO2135), Drugs 101 (BPS1101) and Genetics (BIO2133).

I don't believe that I've mentioned before but I'm currently a second year student in a Honors in BSc - Biology program but I recently switched over to Honors in BSc - Biology (Cellular/Molecular Option). My original program was considered to be too broad because I kept getting e-mails from my University saying that I had to either pick a second major or a second minor in order to graduate. I should have seen this coming as my suggested course outline online was absolutely empty for my third year but I never really did anything about it. Anyways, I decided to just completely change my program since the new one would encompass everything that I wanted and still allow me to keep all of my credits that I've already earned.

So besides that little blurb about my program change, I've mostly been studying madly for my midterms and shopping online to relieve stress. Along with my purchases that I've posted last week, I ordered a 12 piece brush set from Crown Brush on Hautelook with my friend because of all of the nice reviews that I've seen online lately. I originally had planned on purchasing the Sigma Make Me Blush 12 piece brush set from Sigma except Hautelook was having such a nice sale that I couldn't pass it up! I probably will end up with more brushes than I need but hey, at least I'll have extras for the future when some of them start to deteriorate right? I also made an order with some friends on Zipia for accesories and spent around $76.50 CAD which I'll be posting a review for as soon as I recieve my items! Ugh, I'm already feeling really tired right now so I think that I'll cut off my post here and add some more tomorrow. Have an awesome night guys! :)

[REVIEW] MAC - Biker Blue

2011-03-12T23:09:00.000-05:00

As promised days and days ago, I have the swatches for MAC's Biker Blue from the Jeanius Collection. I had mainly wanted to purchase this shade for the sole online swatch that had gorgeous blue and purple glitter encased in a black base. When I actually saw photographed swatches on Temptalia, it's safe to say that I was very disapppointe at the lack of the purple sparkles that showed up. It was a very dark base with lots of blue sparkles but that seemed to lack depth without the purple. Still in love with the polish and in denial that maybe it would show up for me, I decided to go in store to purchase it for myself. I picked it up in the afternoon as soon as I finished my classes and went straight home to strip any nail polish that I already had on.

In person, the polish looks amazing in the bottle and it did show some purple glitter in odd angles of light. It came out as a very dark base loaded with lots of blue glitter. The first coat was extremely streaky and left many bald spots. A second coat evened out the color a little bit but I could still very much see my visible nail line through it. A final and third coat made everything perfect. The final color is an extremely dark navy blue with bright blue microglitter densely packed together.

Pigmentation: I wasn't happy by the fact that it took more than 2 coats to be fully opaque. Mostly because if I would want to use this polish for any future manicures that span beyond a single color, my nails would end up with more coats than it could handle and the polish would probably chip quite quickly. But the fact that I usually like to apply 3 coats of most of my polishes, I was satisfactory with the pigmentation.

Price: A price point of $17.00 CAD is up very high in the range with other higher end brands producing polishes. I've heard that MAC doesn't always produce the best quality polishes though I have yet to try one that doesn't satisfy my basic polish requirements. After tax, Biker Blue came out to be about $20.00 CAD. Unhappy? Yes, very much. For having a reputation of not always having the best polishes, when MAC is comparedto say OPI or China Glaze, I definitely think that its price point should be much lower. Many other brands have better reputuations for constantly producing quality polishes but never quite exceed $10.00 CAD. The price point really was one of the things that made me question whether or not I wanted to keep this polish.

Dry-time: As similar to many other glitter containing polishes, this one took quite awhile to dry. Nowhere near close to the drying time of matte polishes (obviously) but definitely longer than regular jell-based and cream color polishes. The time that it took for all 3 coats to completely dry (ie. no dents occuring when touched) was beyond 30 minutes. I applied this right before I went to bed and gave it at least 30 minutes to dry but still woke up to many sheet dents.

Packaging: I love wide brushes and MAC definitely does not deliver in that area. Nonetheless, it evenly spreads out polish and covers my entire nail with minimal streak lines and color leakage to the side of my cuticles. Besides that fact, I didn't have any problems with the rest of the packaging (ie. the exterior faces of the bottle and cap).

Color: I absolutely love love love this color! Though I didn't get much purple as I had hoped, the bright blue glitters hidden inside of the darkened jelly base looks gorgeous and still has quite a bit of depth.

Overall: The polish didn't quite deliver as I had wanted it to, but whatever I gleaned satisfied me enough to not want to return it. The only major qualm that I had was the fact that it costed $20.00 CAD and wasn't as comparable to other better quality brands that sell their polishes for less. Besides that fact, I definitely think that if yu have some extra change, this would be a nice color to add to your collection. I don't have any other similar colors in my collection so I definitely think that I'll be keeping this one around for awhile.

I hope you guys have enjoyed this review! Below are the pictures of swatches and a grading scheme that I used.

Packaging - Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

Label - Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

Bottle - Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

Closeup @ Purple Glitter - Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

Label - Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

Biker Blue Nail Lacquer

GRADING

Pigmentation: 4/5

Price: 2/5

Dry-time: 2/5

Packaging: 4/5

Color: 5/5

Overall: 17/25 à 68%

50% OFF Rock & Republic Makeup w/ $200 Purchase

2011-03-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

Alright, Rock& Republic has done it again with the discounts. I recieved an e-mail from the website this morning offering 50% off all of their cosmetics with any $200 purchase. Sounds a lot right? But think about it, you're going to end up only spending $100 and maybe even hit free shipping if you spend an extra $50. I think that's a pretty good deal there! Mind you that 50% is nowhere close to what Hautelook offers and the R&R website has a limited supply of their products. So I suggest that if you don't want to wait for Hautelook for have another sale, this would be the right time to snatch up some of the products! I'd presonally recommend picking up as many blushes as possible because those always seem to be the first things that sell out completely! So if you guys are interested in this discount ,use the promo code below, it's a universal code so everyone should be able to get in on it before it's over!

PROMO CODE: SPRINGFEVER

http://www.shop.rockandrepublic.com/

Happy shopping!

40% Off Entire R&R Website

2011-03-07T14:33:00.000-05:00

Anyone fancy 40% of R&R for 2 days only? Use the promo code below, it's a universal code so no limits or minimum purchases.

PROMO CODE: SPRING40

http://www.shop.rockandrepublic.com/

Return of the Frayed to Order

2011-03-06T00:59:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't going to be another post about Frayed to Order by MAC. I just wanted to update you guys that I decided to return the polish in the end. After thinking for awhile, I realized that there isn't much that I can do with this color other than a full on a manicure. The only problem is that I usually go for designs instead of just one color on my nails. Seeing as this polish needed at least 3-4 coat before becomng opaque, I doubt it's going to hold up well layering up against any dark colors. What a waste, sigh. So back to the store it goes. Have any of you guys been having the same problem with Frayed to Order as well, or is it just me? I'll by uploading my swatches for Biker Blue tomorrow evening so make sure to come back for that!

But besides that point, today has been a long day. Started off with a lab for my Animal Form and Function class where we had to dissect an earthworm and a sea worm, Nereis. I was actually surprised because I didn't mind cutting into the worm as much as I remembered I had back in grade eight. I don't have much by means of pictures to upload for today, but just for kicks I'll show you guys what we had to cut up!

Haha, did I creep you guys out? Don't worry I won't always be posting creepy pictures like this everyday. In fact to make up for it, I'm going to give you a sneek preview for my Biker Blue swatch post, enjoy!

I hope you guys enjoyed this somewhat lack-luster post and I'll be seeing you tomorrow! :)

HAUL: MAC Jeanius Collection & Sheen Supreme Lipstick, Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer Review

2011-03-04T19:23:00.000-05:00

Caution! This is going to be a picture heavy post so it may load very slowly!

Yes! The feeling of getting paid is the best you can ever have! Yesterday also being the day of multiple MAC launches, I decided to stop by the store on my way home from class. I originally had my eye on the Biker Blue nail lacquer from the Jeanius Collection and from the Sheen Supreme Lipstick, I wanted to try out Ultra Darling, Full Speed, Gotta Dash! And Bare Again. Oh I forgot to mention that I was interested in the Cremeblend Blushes in the shades Posey and Something Special as well! The MAC counter that I went to had completely sold out in the Gotta Dash! shade and Bare Again as the only one that seemed to be the only shade that matched with my complexion. As for the Cremeblend Blushes, I really ended up liking Something Special but it seemed kind of pale in the store so I wasn’t entirely sold on it. As for the nail lacquers, the store had completely sold out of Frayed to Order so I only had a chance to check out Biker Blue. I read on Temptalia that it comes out really sheer so I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to keep it or not yet. I also wanted to try out Frayed to Order just to see how the shade turns out. Fortunately MAC has a decent refund policy where they accept any returns within 30 days of purchase with receipt. So if I don’t like any of my purchases, I’ll probably just return them.

In the end, I ended up picking up Biker Blue Nail Lacquer ($17.00 CAD), Bare Again Sheen Supreme Lipstick ($17.50 CAD) and hunted down a bottle of Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer ($17.00 CAD) at another counter. If anything I’ll probably end up returning the two nail lacquers (what a shame, seeing as I’m such a lacquer-holic) and probably purchasing one of the Cremeblend Blushes in its place or maybe another Sheen Supreme Lipstick. For today, I’ve swatched Frayed to Order so that I can get an idea as soon as possible as to whether or not I’m going to keep it.

Frayed to Order in the bottle seems to be a yellow-based white with a slight baby pink duochrome shimmer. Once on the nail, it dries to the exact color that you see in the bottle which is what I always aim for! The finish is a matte, but I found that it dried a lot slower than mattes usually do, and even after 5 minutes, I could still cause dents in the polish. Unfortunately, this polish is very sheer and dried with streaks all over my nails for the first 2 coats. It took about 3 coats to even out the color and I even went as far as putting on a fourth coat to achieve complete opacity. If you don’t mind the sheerness and streaks, I think that this is an adorable color! It feels very warm and doesn’t appear to be a stark white-out-esque white that you would see in other shades of white.
After I did the swatch of the polish itself, I decided to layer on a top coat just to see how much more pronounced the pink duochrome would look. I used Seche Vite Dry Fast To Coat and it did seem to help bring out the pink shimmer much more.

I really do enjoy this color; however the downsides in quality are really pushing me towards returning it. Hopefully Bike Blue will yield better results! I hope that you guys enjoy the swatches!
P.S. I also forgot to mention the price point of this product, sitting at $17.00 CAD a bottle, it comes out to almost $20.00 CAD when tax is included. I already have a problem with OPI being roughly $10.00 CAD a bottle for me so the cost of MAC polishes aren’t something I am completely content with. For the time being, I think I’m only going to purchase lacquers that perform above average if they are to cost this much. This lacquer definitely isn’t worth paying $20.00 CAD for but if you have some extra money to use then go ahead by all means. But I feel that I could probably snatch up something nicer from China Glaze or Essie instead of spending $20.00 CAD on just one bottle.

Packaging - Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Label - Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Bottle - Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Label - Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Bottle - Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer

Frayed to Order Nail Lacquer w/ Seche Vite top coat

GRADING

Pigmentation: 2/5

Price: 2/5

Dry-time: 3/5

Packaging: 4/5

Color: 3/5

Overall: 14/25 à 54%

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post where purchased by myself for use and review purposes. My opinions are honest and are not influenced in any way at all. I was not sponsored for this post.

HAUL: Rock & Republic Cosmetics

2011-02-25T02:13:00.000-05:00

Ever since I saw reviews of Rock & Republic Cosmetics on Youtube, I knew that I had to get my hands on the line. I saw it quite a few times on Hautelook but each time I was broke and didn't have much money to spare. After this realisation, I decided that I should start saving up for the next sale. Unfortunately this one came a little bit sooner than I had expected so I didn't get a chance to purchase everything that I wanted all at once. Fret not, I will absolutely be able to purchase all that I have in mind the next time that a sale on Hautelook pops up!

I originally printscreened what I definitely wanted the next time there was a sale and here's what I had in mind.

What I noticed that was different from the sale this time and last was a drastic change in pricing. As you can see, the eyeshadows were priced at $11.20 USD each, however this timethe sale had them listed for $8.40 USD each, a full 70% off! The sale is still going on till this Friday 11:00 EST, so definitely place an order if you have the spare change! So here's what I actually ended up ordering:

If you guys are interested in swatches do let me know! I'm planning to review at least one shadow so that I can test out how well it performs and the whole works. There are about 48 shadows in total and if I like it as much as everyone else raves about them all over the internet, I'm considering purchasing the other 42. Because for $8.40 a shadow that's twice the size of MAC ($14 even in pan form), that's almost a god sent present! If you guys are intereted in Hautelook (but I'm sure everyone and their grandmother has heard about it already), you can join it with my referral link. However, you don't have to use my link. Using link will just give me a $10 USD credit for your first purchase, I'm not going to use this money for myself but hopefully to purchase some goodies and have a giveaway for everyone! :) So come back in few weeks time to check out my review. I think it says that I should expect my products anywhere from the 16th to the 22nd of March!

Referral link: http://www.hautelook.com/invite/vickiixtinhy
Happy Shopping!