May 2011 Favorites

Even though May had 31 days in it, it did seem to go by rather quickly. Here are the products (some I have talked about before, some I have not) that I got a lot of use out of and helped keep me purdy throughout the month: 

• Le Metier de Beaute eye lash curler is in a class of it's own. This replaced my Shu-Umera curler the instant I tried it. Ever since, I have been giving Shu the cold shoulder. Retails for $18.00 and is worth every penny.

• Butter London's nail lacquer in 'Snog' looks great to use in a summer pedicure or for those more daring, just as great on the fingers. It is as hot-pink as you get without venturing into neon territory. Retails for $14.00

• Chanel's Base Lumiere is a fantastic illuminating makeup base that gives you that "glow from within" look, perfect for layering under your foundation. Retails for $42.00 

• Edward Bess' Ultra Luminous Shadow in 'Storm' is my holy grail shadow to date. I love how buttery soft the texture is and the color is gorgeous! I have a weakness for silvery/mauvey taupes (and yes that is a color! ;) ). Retails for  $30.00 

• Le Metier De Beaute's Crease Brush is a recent acquisition of mine. From the day I received it, I wondered how I got by without it. The capability to make my makeup look blended is awesome with this brush. Retails for $45.00 

• Chantecaille's Brillant Gloss in 'Love', with one swipe my lips look perfectly kissable. *mwaaa* It is also such a delicate pink -- perfect for running my errands in. Retails for $28.00

• Another one of my favorites is Le Metier De Beaute's Dualistic Eye Pencil in 'Tamarack' which can serve as both an eye shadow base or as a liner. The color depth of this gorgeous brown is something that one can only be appreciated in person. Retails for $36.00

What were your May favorites? Please share, I love finding new product discoveries.

Becca's Tangerine Dream Nail Polish

I was thrilled when I was presented with the opportunity to do an international swap and pick up some new products from lines that I had zero experience with. Suddenly the vigor to try makeup that I could not pick up locally sparked some enthusiasm in me! Besides, I need to break out of my beauty rut.

I had seen reviews on Becca in the past, courtesy of some stellar UK bloggers (Visionary Beauty, and Modesty Brown, etc.) but admittedly I never paid that much attention since I knew that brand was not available to me. When the idea of the swap was presented with Jane, from Modesty Brown my interest in these brands were sent into high gear. I am swiftly becoming quite the nail polish aficionado and knew I wanted to try a nail polish. I went to Becca Cosmetics (an Australian company) website and settled on 'Tangerine Dreams' - described as "a bright sunset coral." Becca's 'Tangerine Dreams' is part of her Halycon Days collection, which now includes nail polishes, and was inspired by the flower child in all of us. I have always been a fan of coral and love that every summer it reappears in stores, gracing both fashion and cosmetics.

I was so excited to get to try a new brand of nail polish, a brand that I had heard good things about overall. For the last two days I have been walking around with three different nail colors and decided that enough was enough -- a proper at home manicure was in order. Time to give 'Tangerine Dreams' a go.

I had just read a review that the nail polish was on the thicker side so after that the bar for this bottle was set pretty low. I could not have been more pleased when applying this. There was first, little to no odor and it applied like a dream. It was not thick at all and in fact I got away with just one even coat, something that always impresses me! The brush was wide, not as great as the newly redesigned Dior nail polish brush - my favorite nail polish brush! Like Deborah Lippmann, Le Metier De Beaute, and Butter London polishes, these are formaldehyde, toluene, camphor, and DBP free. Becca polishes are not tested on animals either, something I know is a concern to many of you.

With Memorial Day weekend being the unofficial kickoff to summer, what better way to usher in the new season than with a bright, cheery shade that screams "SUMMER"?!

I cannot attest to the staying power of this polish since I just did my nails, but for the life of me I cannot seem to get a polish to last on me longer than three days without at least some minimal chipping. I think being a mommy it is part of the territory, especially a mommy that still begrudgingly lovingly changes diapers and washes her hands constantly! It doesn't matter if it is a drug store brand or a department brand polish they all have pretty much the same staying power on me.

You can buy Becca cosmetics stateside from b-glowing.com, dermstore.com, or beautyhabit.com. For those living in the UK you can find Becca Cosmetics at Zuneta.com. Zuneta will also ship worldwide. Australian beauties can pick up Becca from Adore Beauty or Active Skin.

Retails for $15.00 USD or £12.

What are your favorite coral/orange nail polishes? I would love to know! 

Sneak Peak

Here is a picture showcasing some of the goodies that I will be reviewing in the next week. I hope this picture whets your appetite! I'm excited to try my first Rouge Bunny Rouge eye shadow, and Becca nail polish sent by the fabulous Jane at Modesty Brown. I am also excited to use my Le Metier De Beaute brushes as they are made from high quality materials.

Have a fabulous extended weekend for all those stateside. To all my international readers have a great weekend! 

Chanel's Morning Rose Photos and Swatches

'Morning Rose (#557)' 

 I initially passed on, Morning Rose dubbing it as a "boring pink" polish instead opting for the much-hyped "it" color of the season, Mimosa was a bit prejudiced on my part. I am just happy to have been able to right a beauty wrong and exchange the polish for a more compatible color for my skin tone (thanks to the generous return policy of Nordstrom's) or so I thought.

The more I thought about Mimosa sitting in my nail polish holder going unused (with the exception of the one time I wore and posted pics) really unsettled me. I knew I would probably never wear that color again and yet I will admit there was some pleasure in knowing I had the "it" color for the Summer of 2011. I think it was that satisfaction that blinded me to the fact that a) I was not a fan of the formula, and b) the color was unsuited for my ruddy undertones, and c) at $25.00, it was an expensive lesson to learn. The more I read blogs singing the praises of Morning Rose, the more gutted I began to feel. I decided to try and see if Nordstrom even had any Morning Rose left in stock - they did, only two left! I asked about exchanging my Mimosa and they were very gracious and understanding. I hate to normally exchange things, but I really did not find much to like in Mimosa, and I knew it would go unused for here on out. I was jubilated to exchange it for a polish that more matched me and my personality.

Morning Rose is a pink polish with flecks of gold that add a sparkle taking it from "boring" to "intriguing". That extra "something" is what sets it apart and making it hard to dupe.   

When Chanel is on point they are unstoppable, and Morning Rose was no exception. The formula was right on. It was a relief after suffering disappointment with how thick Mimosa applied and my faith with Chanel had been renewed. I easily got a thin, even coat with Morning Rose but went for two coats to have more color deposit. I encountered no bubbles or thickness with application, yay!

The only drawback I can see is that the pinkness of Morning Rose brings out the ruddiness in my hands (here we go again), something I am not crazy about. I personally, think I look best in darker nail polishes, duly noted. This isn't a knock against Morning Rose, as far as delivery I was pleasantly surprised. I just feel I may have hit two strikes with Chanel's Summer nail polishes due to my skin tone and I'm not eager for a third strike with Beige Petale.

I hope you can see the gold flecks that lie in 'Morning Rose' - it really is pretty.

'Morning Rose' on my fingers

I'm afraid 'Morning Rose' is not compatible with my coloring

What is your go-to polish for summer?

How do you deal with a beauty disappointment?

*Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a nail polish review, but rather my experience with a product disappointment.*

We all have one. The one product that we were suppose to love, but for some reason couldn't muster up the energy to. That one product for me, is Butter London's, Limited Edition, 'No More Waity, Katie', an ode to future princess Kate Middleton. This bottle just fell short of my previous experiences with Butter London (normally, I'm a huge fan). So onto the good (the lack of carcinogens), the bad (the way off color description), and the ugly (the chunky glitter). ...

'No More Waity, Katie'

I wanted to love it, really I did. In theory I should have loved it, but in reality it was a different story. Let's see...lilac? (love) glitter? (love) griege? (who doesn't?) Put them all together and you should have a recipe for true, feeling-it-all-the-way-to-your-toes love, but instead you 'ehh'  -- a take it or leave it bottle of polish. This nail polish is easily the biggest beauty disappointment I've experienced in a long time and at $14.00 a bottle, I realize it could be a lot worse. So I'll cut my loses here, and instead view it as a memento of the royal wedding du jour.

This, friends, is what happens when you order something sight unseen, in the middle of the night bored out of your mind, surfing the Internet trolling for your next beauty fix and getting caught up in the hoopla of royal weddings, limited quantities, and exclusive releases.

As soon as I opened the box disappoint set in, first, the nature of the color was not what they were touting it to be (a beige lavender mix), nor did it resemble the promo pics. In fact, I can find no beige in there for the life of me. Second, they claim this has a 'splash' of glitter, however, it was far too chunky for my liking and looked like something a little girl playing dress up would wear, not a future real-life princess. Thirdly, it took three full coats for it to really evenly show up on my fingers. Despite my initial disappointment the night I received it well over a month ago, it was the last time I touched it. It's now relegated to stay on top of my Clear Cube as if it is mocking me for my haste of jumping on the beauty bandwagon. Lesson learned, do not buy makeup without first testing it, or at least reading reviews on it. I just wished I had picked up Butter London's 'Yummy Mumm' instead.

To sum it up,  'No more waity, Katie' just wasn't what I was expecting. The glitter could have been more subtle and even though the lilac color is pretty, I would opt for Le Metier's 'Lavande' for a far more sophisticated lilac, after all, it was inspired by a Bergdorff Goodman shopping bag - doesn't get more sophisticated than that. Princess or not.

What were your recent beauty disappointments?