Frankenpolish + Crackle Polish

I've tried to make nail polish with eyeshadow multiple times before, but it always ends up clumpy!
I know, I know, the solution to that is to add polish thinner, but I don't own any! lol

After not trying this for awhile, I decided to give it a try again.
I used an eyeshadow palette by Profusion that I got from Ross for around $6 that I never use.
They're all shimmery shades, and there are some beautiful shades, but the eyeshadow really stinks! lol I just don't like it, and the the colors are sort of hard to blend.

So I scraped some powder loose and mixed it with clear polish and stirred, and here's what I got:

This is the franken polish next to the original eyeshadow. You can see the purple duochrome from the eyeshadow actually translated onto the nails- I was excited for that!

But, it was pretty clumpy.

Here's a better picture of the nails, and all their clumpy glory!

Apparently this color is very similar to an Orly polish and, it's almost identical to the new breast cancer OPI Pink Shatter.

So after having this on my nails, I picked up a gold crackle polish by Color Club at Rue 21 for $4. I threw it over my pink nails, and this is how it looked:

The Color Club crackle was very hard to work with, as it all clumped up in the top of the bottle as I was trying to use it, but it did have good results. I saw online that Color Club's gold crackle actually has a name- "Tattered in Gold," but my bottle is unnamed. (Because it's from Rue21?)

So then I tried to franken a second polish, with the same palette.

Since I Had such a clumpy mess the first time, I tried adding some nail polish remover to my franken to thin it out, but that just made the polish dry really weird- and it was still clumpy.

So, I just threw the gold crackle(shatter? whichever.) over it!

Have you tried making your own polishes before?

The palette I have is pretty large, so maybe I'll finally get some polish thinner so I can try out all the pretty colors on my nails, that don't work so well on my eyes.

P.S.

-It has been raining here for the past 4 or 5 days, and it's not supposed to stop for another 3 or so days. So gloomy!

-Starting this week, I have to get up for work 3 times a week at 5:30 am. It's like school all over again, but hey! that's life!

Happy polishing!

-Posh

Kitten Heel

If someone were to ask me what my favorite eyeshadow color of all times would be, I would consider answering with:
Lacome Kitten Heel eyeshadow.
I've had this tiny sample sized eyeshadow quad for almost 4 or so years now, that I had taken from an old box of things my mom no longer used. I think she had either gotten it as a free gift with a purchase somewhere, or she got it at TJ Maxx, I can't remember.
But it's one of the colors in the palette.
I've looked at buying this eyeshadow multiple times, but I just can't bring myself to spend $18 on single eyeshadow! I have seen the eyeshadow in a quad on Amazon for around $9, so I maaaaay buy that. (maybe lol)

This is what it looks like. It's a gorgeous pink tone with a gold sheen.

It just looks great on my skintone, and works with any crease color- black, brown, purple, etc.

So, I recently realized, maybe I do have a dupe for this in my collection after all.

ELF Essentials  Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow

and for comparison purposes, I added in ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow in Sunset, because it has a similar gold sheen like Kitten Heel does, but it has a different base color.

Left to right:

ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow in Sunset, ELF Essentials Natural Radiance Blusher in Glow, Lancome Color Design Sensational Effects Eyeshadow in Kitten Heel

As you can see, Kitten Heel certainly outshines the others with a golden sheen. After seeing Kitten Heel up against Glow, I've noticed KH has a lot more of a plum base than I originally thought, and Glow has a brighter pink base.  But I have to say Glow is rather close to Kitten Heel! Not an exact dupe though, probably sisters! :) Sunset is like a cousin. :)

On a side note, my ELF Essentials Glow blush busted everywhere the first time I opened it, so I dumped it into an empty minerals container I had. I'm definitely going to try this on my eyes tomorrow and see how I like it in comparison to Kitten Heel.

I've heard that Millani Powder Eyeshadow Singles in Illusion is a dupe for Kitten Heel, but I haven't gotten my hands on that yet!

Have you tried any of these items?

What's your all time favorite eyeshadow?

Top Coat Confusion!

I've been using Nail Life's Speed Demon Quick Drying Top Coat every time I paint my nails. It's finally getting down to the last bit in the bottle, and what's left got so thick I couldn't use it.
Also, I noticed after about 2 days of painting my nails, my polish peeled off in sheets.
So, I made myself use up the top coat, until I couldn't use it anymore!
I did some research and decided the next quick dry top coat I was going to try was INM's Out The Door.
But here's a little tip at how I came to this conclusion:

I wanted to buy Seche Vite. I really did. BUT since the main ingredient is TOULENE (ew!), which is known to cause cancer in the state of California- I'll pass!
I actually had a dream last night that they reformulated Seche Vite to be Toulene free- YEAH RIGHT!
My subconscious didn't even want me to use a nail polish with toulene in it!

So I came across this lovely blog post, which was SO INCREDIBLY helpful in helping my choose a top coat.

http://www.just-nice-things.co.uk/2010/10/25/quickdry-topcoat-comparison/

I headed to Sally's and had it narrowed down to China Glaze Fast Forward, and INM Out The Door.
OTD was on sale for $5, retails for $6, while FF was $6, so I picked up OTD this time.
Let's hope it works as well as I'm expecting it to!

Happy painting, everyone!

P.S. Shout out to my newest follower?! Was it you, Sam? I can't tell who the newest follower is!
Thanks for following!

Comparison: ELF Studio Blush in Gotta Glow vs. ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow in Buttercream

These two products from ELF are very similar. They both retail for $3 from Eyeslipsface.com.

The blush is a lot larger in size, but the packaging is otherwise the same.

But how do they compare?

Well, I'll start out by saying this is the second Gotta Glow that I have owned. I feel like the first one was more of a very pale golden color with gold shimmer, while the second one's base color is more white than the first one.

Gotta glow is a whitish gold with gold shimmer. Buttercream is a pale gold with gold shimmer.

I like to use these both on my browbone and/or as a cheek highlight.

I used to use Gotta Glow every day, but since the second one I purchased wasn't as beautiful as the first one-(Did I get a bad one or did the formula change?), I've been using other products I own for highlighters. 

I definitely reach for Buttercream more often. I apply it with the ELF Studio contour blush under my brow bone. This is my favorite brow bone eyeshadow shade that I own. It just works very well with my skin tone, and it works with every eyeshadow shade.

For the price though, since you get more product, Gotta Glow is the better buy. I prefer Buttercream though because it is just more of a golden glow when applied.

Without flash: Gotta Glow on left, Buttercream on right.

You can see the base colors very well here. Gotta Glow is a very pale gold, where Buttercream is a warmer gold. Therefore, Gotta Glow might be best for cool skintones, whereas Buttercream might be best for warm skintones. Ultimately though, one product was meant for eyes whereas the other was meant for cheeks, but they are both versatile products.

With flash: GG on left, BC on right.

See how similar? Yet Buttercream still comes off slightly more golden than GG. 

(Ignore my feetsies in the pic!)

Buttercream on left, Gotta Glow on right.

 Buttercream on top, Gotta Glow on Left.

Do you own either of these? Which one would you buy?

I love Buttercream because it's so small and compact, it's easy to travel with. I use it quite often, as it's interchangeable with any lid and crease color.

(Side note: I purchased Gotta Glow on Eyeslipsface.com, but I SCORED Buttercream at a Dollar Tree while out of town a few months ago for $1-they now have them at my local Dollar Tree, so scope yours out for it, as it retails for $3!)

FOTD

Face:
Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation in Soft Beige
Elf Studio Complexion Perfection
Hard Candy Fox In A Box Blush in Skinny Dipping
Elf Essentials Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Luminance
Elf Studio Contour& Blush Duo- Bronzer only
Elf Studio Concealer Pencil & Brush in Fair

Eyes:
Elf Essentials Eyelid primer in Pearl
Wet and Wild Color Icon Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned- Gold Shade only, applied wet.
Elf Studio Single Eyeshadow in Sunset
Elf Essentials Brightening Eye Quad in Luxe, First and third shade.
Elf Studio Cream Eyeliner in Copper
Elf Studio Volumizing & Lengthening Mascara in Black

Brows:
Elf Essentials Mascara and Brow Gel in Crystal
Elf Studio Brow Kit in Dark-Gel side only

Lips:
Elf Studio Minty Lipgloss in San Diego.

A friend of mine on Facebook asked what "FOTD" meant, (on a makeup group page I'm a member of), and another member replied, "Fuck Out The Door??"
I found this quite hilarious and needed to share it with you beauties. I replied and said a Fuck Out The Door is what you do when you have <5 minutes to apply your makeup and get out the door!
If you're young, excuse our potty mouths! :)

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August Favorites

Want to know which products I've been loving lately?!

ELF Essentials Wet Gloss Lash & Brow Mascara

I use this on my brows daily. After it dries, I apply the gel side of the ELF Studio Brow Kit in Dark. This stuff lifts my eyebrows, keeps them in place, and makes my eyebrow arch more visible.

ELF Studio Golden Bronzer

This really isn't a bronzer, I use it as a highlight. It's really pretty! I like how there's four different shades, or the the swirled together shade. You can use this as a highlighter, or use the different shades on the eyes.

ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner in Black

My super watery eyes are no match for this liner's staying power!

ELF Studio Matte Lipcolor in Coral

This is such a GORGEOUS shade. The pencil is a lot bigger than it looks online too.

Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation in 240 Soft Beige

LOVE this foundation! and it's sooo cheap! $4 for 1 oz!

I apply this with:

ELF Studio Powder Brush

Hard Candy Fox In A Box Blush in Skinny Dipping

This blush is AMAZING! It's so pigmented and smooth. I love the unique color, it looks great on my skintone.

Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Polish in Royal

This is SO MUCH PRETTIER than this picture shows. I didn't want to steal anyone's swatch pictures, so seriously, go google this! 

LA Colors Nail Polish Remover Pads

I have these in Peach and Melon. I found these at Family Dollar a few weeks ago. (After hunting every other store around for them. I bought six when I finally found these!) I recently saw them in The Dollar Tree though!

My ELF Haul

I ordered my biggest ELF order as a birthday present for myself, with some birthday money I had gotten.

Here's what I got:

And Close up shots:

And everything except my back ups unopened:

AND I paid for 3 day shipping, and even though it got delayed by the hurricane, it arrived on my birthday!
See my cat in the lower left corner checking things out?! hehe.
I used a 50% off studio code, and saved $44.50! woohoo!

Do you guys have any of these items? Have any questions about anything, feel free to ask!

My Makeup Storage!

I'm aware this is going to change (rather drastically) once my latest ELF order gets here, but as of right now, this is how I store my makeup collection.
I do keep all of my open lipglosses in a cosmetics case in my purse (along with a few lipsticks.)
I also have an ELF stash of unopened items and back ups, randomly throughout my room.

On top of my Sterilite container, I have a makeup brush holder, which has 3 categories: face brushes, lip stains/eyeliner pens, and eye brushes. I also have face sunscreen, Qtips, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and a lamp.

Second drawer:

Top left: Empty cosmetic containers/bottles, nail polish remover, acne wipes.

Top Middle: Face Moisturizers, eye creams, nail file, ELF eyelashes. 

Top Right: In Zip pouch: ELF Zit Zapper, Blackhead pusher, tweezers.

Bottom Left: Palettes and ELF Studio Brush set bag.

Bottom Right: Primers, Concealers, Eyelid Primers, ELF All Over Color/Cover Sticks, cream highlighters.

Top Left: ELF Studio Blushes

Top Right: All over brand blushes, all of my bronzers.

Bottom Left: All face powders, loose and pressed.

Bottom Right: Liquid Foundations/tinted moisturizer.

Top Left: Lipglosses/chapsticks I don't use often.

Top Green Container: Mascaras.

Middle Green Container: Eyeliners and ELF Studio Brow Kit

Bottom Green Container: Lipsticks/non pen type lipstains

Bottom cardboard container: all eyeshadow singles, duos, trios, quads, etc.

I got the small green containers and pink containers at The Dollar Tree! This was all very cheap and easy to do! The brushes holder came from Wal Mart, cost $5, and is actually a pen/pencil holder. 

Feel free to ask my opinion of any product you see.

Enjoy! :)

FOTD

(Yes, that's American Chopper in the background- it's my boyfriend's favorite show!)

Products used:

Banana Boat 30 SPF Sunwear Faces
Equate SPF 15 Moisturizer
Monistat Chafing Gel as Primer
Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation in Soft Beige
ELF Studio HD Powder and Studio SPF 45 UVA/UVB Protection Powder mixed
ELF Studio Blush & Bronzer Contouring Duo- used Bronzed only for contouring.
Hard Candy Fox In A Box Blush in Skinny Dipping
ELF Studio Golden Bronzer as highlight

ELF Essentials Eyelid Primer in Pearl
ELF Essentials Brightening Eye Color in Butternut-all four shades
ELF Essentials Liquid Eyeliner in Black
ELF ESsentials Defining and Lengthening Mascara in Black
ELF Essentials Clear Lash and Brow Mascara on brows only
ELF Studio Brow Kit in Dark- gel side only

ELF Studio 2 in 1 Conditioning Lipgloss in Supermodel

I Just Placed My Biggest ELF Order Ever

As if I didn't have enough ELF stuff, I got some birthday money early and placed a 45 piece ELF order from eyeslipsface.com!
I paid $75.40 total for my order.
$11.90 for 3 day shipping/1 day processing time.
AND I saved $45.50 using their "STUDIO" 50% off Studio line code.
So what did I get?
In case any of you may be curious, I'll list the items I ordered.
I'm crossing my fingers nothing was out of stock, but we all know how that goes.

St. = Studio
ES.= Essentials
(I didn't get any mineral items.) I'll also include the price I paid.

-St. Angled Eyeliner Brush $1.50
-St. Mineral Infused Mascara in Black $1.50
-St. Cream Eyeliner in Black, Gunmetal, Copper, Coffee, Purple and Golden. $1.50 each.
-Es. Blending Eye Brush
-Es. Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil in Iconic Ivory, Blissful Blush, Grassy Green, Boldly Bronzed, Plum Passion, Precious Pink (I'll have them all now!) $1 each
-St. Blush Brush $1.50
-St. Glitter Gloss in Bronze Bling $1.50
-St. Cream Eyeshadow in Natural Glow, Dawn, and Bronzed $1.50 each
-Es. Lipstick in Captivating, and Nostalgic $1 each
-Es. Eyelid Primer in Champagne $1
-St. Makeup Mist and Set $1.50
-St. Matte Lip Color in Coral $1.50
-Es. Eye Crease Brush $1
-Es. Eyeshadow Brush $1
-St. Eye Transformer $1.50
-Es. Eyeliner Brush $1
-Beauty School Eyeshadow Pigments Collection- three pigments $3
-St. Concealer Pencil & Brush in Fair $1.50
-St. Cream Blush in Heartbreaker $3 (I'm most excited about this!)
-St. High Definition Powder $3
-St. Kabuki Face Brush $2.50
-Es. Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Luminance $1
-Es. Matte Clear Finisher Nail Polish $1
-St. Glossy Gloss in Pink Candy $1.50
-St. Powder Brush $1.50
-St. Stipple Brush $1.50
-St. Single Eyeshadow in Sunset $1.50
-Es. All Over Cover Stick in Toffee $1
-St. Tone Correcting Powder (Formerly known as Complexion Perfection) $1.50
-St. Blush in Twinkle Pink (I'll have them all now!) $1.50
-St. Wrinkle Refiner $1.50

Phew! Have you tried any of these? I can't wait!

p.s. My free gift is Hypershine Gloss in Honey (I have and like this!)

EOTD Tutorial feat. ELF products!

1. Apply ELF studio Golden Bronzer lightly between eyebrow and crease with ELF Studio Angled Foundation Brush. (This helps the crease and brow bone colors blend better.)

2. Apply ELF Essentials Eyelid Primer in Pearl. Blend with fingers.

3. Apply the green shade from ELF Essentials Brightening Eye Color (Quad) in Teal Dreams on the inner half of eyelid with included sponge tip applicator.

4. Apply ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow in Mystic Moss on outer half of eyelid with ELF Studio Concealer Brush, blend the two lid colors together.

5. Apply the black shade from ELF Essentials Brightening Eye Color (Quad) in Drama with ELF Studio Angled Liner Brush to outer crease/outer v area and outer third of eyelid. Blend into the Mystic Moss shade. Also apply to lower lashline with same brush.

6. Apply ELF Studio Single Eyeshadow in Butter cream under brow bone and to inner corner of eye with ELF Studio Contour Brush.

7. Apply ELF Essentials Shimmer Eyeliner in Black Bandit to outer third of lower lashline.

8. Apply ELF Essentials Liquid Eyeliner in Black along upper lashline.

9. Apply ELF Essentials Defining and Lengthening Mascara in Black to upper and lower lashes.

10. Apply ELF Essentials Clear Lash and Brow Gel to brows.

11. Fill in brows with gel side of ELF Studio Brow Kit in Dark.

Other face products used:

Monistat Chafing Relief Gel-Powder as Primer

Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation 240 Soft Beige

ELF Studio SPF 45 UVA/UVB Protection Powder

ELF Studio HD Powder

ELF Studio Blush and Bronzer Contouring Duo

ELF Studio Blush in Pink Passion

ELF Studio Golden Bronzer as Cheek Highlight

ELF Essentials Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Blush

ELF Essentials Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Nude Pink

Hard Candy Mini Must Have

I have been sooo busy at work these past few days, I've completely gotten behind on reading all of the new blog posts I follow!
I also haven't gotten a chance to do any blogging!
BUT- I have the weekend off, so I hope I can get some swatching done then.

I have to tell you about an ADORABLE and AFFORDABLY AWESOME product I saw today!

While waiting for a prescription to get filled at Wal Mart today, I browsed the cosmetics section for a good 45 minutes. (Time flies when you're lost in makeup land!)

At the Hard Candy display, I came across the CUTEST thing, called "Mini Makeup Must Haves." The one that caught my eye was called "First Flush." So babydoll pink and pretty!
Apparently these were in the Winter 2010 collection, but I am just noticing these!
(There were 3 others)

In this kit, you get sample sizes of: the baked blush in Living Doll, The Glow All The Way Illuminator in Dollface, Plumping Serum in Uptown Girl, and Sheer Envy Primer.

I don't know the specs, but I think the blush is VERY close to the full size. The full size retails for $7, so basically for $1 more, you can try out three more of their products! If you bought the full size of all 4 products, you'd spend $29, so this is a great way to see if you'd actually want the full size of these. I've actually had my eye on the Living Doll blush, and this is a great way to try out some other Hard Candy products!

Do you have any of these products? I think I'm going to pick this up when I get paid!

My Elf Collection: Eyes Edition (Video!)

Hey everyone! I did my second youtube video!
If you missed the first one, you can watch it here.

I decided to show you my ELF collection, but I'll be breaking it up between Eyes, Lips, Face, and brushes.

The Eyes edition is up now!

I recorded the "Lips" video, but it's going to take forever to upload- the eyes one seriously took me about 8 hours to upload!
Thanks for watching, everyone! :)
-Posh

Massachusetts Mask: Back to school giveaway

Have you entered Massachusetts Mask's Back to school giveaway?
The prize for this is AMAZING. I want everything!
Click the link to enter, good luck beauties!
Massachusetts Mask's Giveaway!

ELF Essentials Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Ruby Slipper

This lipgloss costs $1 at www.eyeslipsface.com, or in select Targets and Kmarts. This is my favorite red lipgloss-it's as pigmented as a lipstick, when applied heavily, but it's as shiny as a lipgloss too. When applied lightly, it can just be a sheer wash of color. It is vanilla mint flavored, and reminds me of original Mentos.
I love this because it's an actual red lipgloss, and it's like my natural lip color, but red. The swatch is from a cell phone picture, but you get the idea! I highly recommend this gloss!

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