Nordstrom Rack Finds

Lorac, Smashbox & Urban Decay

The last few times I went to Nordstrom Rack, they had the same items as when I went at the end of January. Today, I decided to stop by to see if there is anything new & to my surprise, there was!



The items I saw at my local Nordstrom Rack were:
Smashbox Blush Rush Blush in Gingersnap & Bare: $12.97 (retail $24)
Smashbox Cover Shot Spring 2012 collection: $34.97 (retail $60)
Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette: $24.97 (retail $49)
Lorac Visual Effects Mascara: $9.97 (retail $20)
Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow: $8.97 (retail $20)
Lorac Couture Shine Lip Gloss: $13.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Eye Candy Eye Pencil set: $11.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Sweet Temptations Eyeshadow Collection: $17.97 (retail $36)
Lorac Eye Candy Full Face Collection: $27.97 (retail $59)

I thought the Lorac Sets are an amazing deal. They were recently on Hautelook as well (I'm not surprised it's at Nordstrom Rack since Hautelook is owned by Nordstrom), but I would much rather get it from Nordstrom Rack so I wouldn't have to pay shipping & use my Nordstrom card for it.

What do you think about these sets? :)

(this is the full post, the click more button still remains even when there is nothing else)

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Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick: 109

Swatches & Review


During the month of March, all Rimmel lipsticks are 50% off at Walgreens, so since there was a sale, I purchased eight lipsticks in the beginning of the month. Most of the lipsticks I purchased were from their new Matte Finish line, which are the red tubes..

109 is described as a bright orange.


The lipstick has "Kate ♥" in black on the red tube.

For the first lip picture, I took it in direct sunlight. The other two were taken indoor, with the middle one being in front of the window.
Although the color of the lipstick is described as a bright orange, it shows more like a orange-coral on me.

This is the first lipstick that I have tried from all the others ones I have purchased. Before this, I only owned one Rimmel Lipstick in shade 04 (dark purple). 109 is a nice wearable orange coral, however, it applied very unevenly for me, so you are able to see some patches of my lips that are not covered from the lipstick. It has a sweet scent to it, which reminds me of Asian dried plums (I don't know if that is a good thing), but it fades away after a while. Although it claims to be a "matte finish", I feel like these have a bit of a shine to it. I love the color, but I am not a fan of the application since it applies very patchy. Another thing I wish these had were names because I feel like it is harder for me to remember numbers of lipsticks instead of names.

What do you think about Rimmel's lipsticks? Have you tried any before? Are there any shades that you like?

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MAC Fashion Sets 2013

Swatches

After seeing promo images for MAC Cosmetics 2013 Fashion Sets, I have debating on which lipstick colors to get since they are colors that I have been into lately. Normally, I swatch them a week before they come out because my local MAC Pro location has them out for display before the release date. I went by today since I was about a mile away & to my surprise, they just got these in for display yesterday! Since it was there, of course I had to swatch them all!


This collection consists of four colors. Each of the color has a matching lipstick, lipglass, lipliner, nail polish and eyeshadow. The location had all of the items except the eyeshadows.


I have taken pictures of these in different lighting. The top row is when I was inside the store, the middle row was when I was outside in direct sunlight, and the last one was when I was inside the car with direct sunlight.

Originally, I planned on buying all four, but after swatching it, I feel like the one I want the most is Heroine. All of the lipsticks have a matte finish. Ablaze is similar to Maybelline's Vibrant Mandarin, but they have different finishes. Embrace Me is similar to Daddy's Little Girl and Maybelline's Hot Plum, but with different finishes as well.


In person, Embrace Me looked very similar to Candy Yum Yum, but after swatching & comparing it, Candy Yum Yum is lighter and brighter than Embrace Me.


Since these colors were bright and very pigmented, they left a bit of a stain behind.


Out of all the shades, I tried on Embrace Me on my lips. I like it, but I definitely do not need it. My hair looks very brown here, but I think it's because the sun is directly shining on it! I would LOVE to dye my hair into a color similar to that, but I don't think I want to get rid of my virgin hair :P


What do you think about the lip colors in this collection? Is there any that you are thinking about picking up?

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China Glaze: When Stars Collide & Strap On Your Moonboots

Swatches & Review


Last week, I purchased seven of the twelve colors from China Glaze's Spring Hologlam collection. When I first heard about this collection, I was super excited because it was supposed to have a holographic finish & China Glaze had some of the best in the past (OMG collection & Kaleidoscope collection). The first two I tried are When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots, which were the two I wanted the most from the collection.

When Stars Collide: Deep purple. It leans kind of like a maroon shade, but I wouldn't call it maroon since it is not too much on the red-ish-purple side.
Strap On Your Moonboots: Dark denim blue.

These two pictures were of the nail polish taken indoors. For two of my fingers, I used Nfu-Oh's aqua base, and for my other two, I used no bases at all.
What I found with using the aqua base was that the nail polish applied unevenly and there was folding. When used without the base, it definitely shows the imperfection of the nails, but applying it without the base was definitely easier. However, when used with the aqua base, the color of Strap On Your Moonboots was a darker blue than applied without the base. All of these were applied with two coats. When indoor, the holographic finish is very subtle. It looks more like a metallic nail polish finish than holographic because they are very silver-y.

These were taken outdoor. The holographic effect is better outdoor than indoor.

These were taken outdoor with my smart phone, which is why my fingers look a bit more washed out than the one above. Like the other one, the holographic finish is better outside than inside.

When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots are the two that are supposed to have the best holographic finish. If this is really true, then this collection is definitely disappointing. The colors are there and have great potential to be very nice holographic finish nail polishes, but when this is compared to their older collections, Color Club's Halo Hues & Urban Outfitter's holographic nail polishes, these are underwhelming. The colors of these two are gorgeous and they applied easily without a base. Although it shows imperfection of the nails, I definitely would apply these without a base because the way these applied after the aqua base was completely dried was not nice. It looks more imperfect then my nail itself. If I were to choose Color Club's Halo Hues or this, I would definitely choose the Halo Hues. These retail for $14 each, but can be found on online e-tailers for cheaper, such as nailetc.com, 8ty8beauty.com, etc.. (I am not affiliated with these websites).

What do you think about the Hologlam collection from China Glaze? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! :)

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Zoya PixieDust: Vespa & Godiva

Swatches & Review

I received the Zoya PixieDust nail polish set from the company for free in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

Last week, I reviewed two of the PixieDust nail polishes from Zoya for Spring. Today, I have the next two, which is Vespa & Godiva.


To apply these, you need to apply a thin first layer, wait for it to fully dry & then apply a second coat.

For my swatches, I used three coats each. Unlike Chyna & Dahlia, these were a bit more sheer.
Vespa: Light green with silver glitter.
Godiva: Nude-beige with silver glitter.

Since these were applied without a base coat and without a top coat, I decided to see how well they held up. What I noticed about Vespa & Godiva was that they held up a lot better than Chyna & Dahlia. It was quite surprising since I used more coats for these.

By day four, you can see there is noticeable tip wear on my right hand.

By day five, the nail polish on my right index finger was chipping off. However, the left fingers show some tip wear.

Day six was the last day I had these on. As you can tell, the ones on my left hand had a pretty good wear of these since they lasted very well. However, my right hand had nail polish on my middle & index finger that was chipping off.

Like Chyna & Dahlia, these held up very well for my left hand fingers (because I do not use my left hand much). On my right hand fingers, you can see that the ones on my index & middle finger was chipping off by the last day I wore these. They lasted four days on my right hand very well. These were more sheer than Chyna & Dahlia, which required them to be 3 coats each. I felt like these felt a bit softer than Chyna & Dahlia, but I don't know if it is because I got used to it. From the four I have tried so far, I really like Godiva. I love going to the beach and the nude-texture feeling reminded me of the sand. The removal was easy on these as well. I used Zoya's nail polish remover and placed the cotton with it onto my nails for about a minute. After having the cotton ball there for a minute, the PixieDust texture nail polish came off very easily without sticking to my nails & my skin. I think a lot of people have been interested in the texture because there were times when I was sitting through a lecture in class & a random girl sitting next to me would just start touching me nails (weird, isn't it?) & then say "it looks like it is fun to touch!"... haha! It happened to me three times. For a texture nail polish, it stays on well and it is easy to remove, which is a plus for me!

What do you think about Vespa & Godiva? Have you tried Zoya's PixieDust collection?

These are available for purchase on Zoya.com now, and they retail for $9 per 0.5oz bottle.

*The products in this post were provided to me for my honest opinion/review. I was not paid nor compensated for the review.

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Revlon Color Burst Lip Butter: Sorbet

Swatches & Review

When I first heard of the new shades from Revlon's Lip Butter line from Nouveau Cheap's blog, I had to find them. It has been over a month and I have finally found them. I have been stalking Target locations for these & yesterday, I found them as they were putting up the new displays. I grabbed Sorbet & Wild Watermelon from the display & they were purchased by my boyfriend so that I can review them.

Like all of Revlon's Lip Butter, they have a quilted cap & the cap is the color of what the shade is supposed to be.


In the tube, it looks like a bright pink.

When swatched, the color is like a sheer bright pink. For my lips, I used one swipe & it shows a bit bright already.
For the first lip picture, I took it in direct sunlight. The other two were taken indoor, with the middle one being in front of the window, inside the car.

Previous lip butters I have owned were very pigmented, but this was not as pigmented when compared to Raspberry Pie, however, it is still a very nice shade. I felt like the formula for these were a bit different because these feel a lot more moisturizing than the older lip butter shades that I owned. I also noticed that there was a slight sweet scent to these, while my older lip butters do not. After a few hours of wear, it starts to wear off & leaves a slight stain, which is pretty nice.

My boyfriend purchased this at Target for $6.49 & these were found on the permanent display.

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Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids: Vibrant Mandarin

Swatches & Review

If you have been following my recent blog posts, I have been obsessed with Maybelline's Color Sensational Vivids. Around the end of January, I purchased two of the collection, which is Hot Plum & Brazen Berry. After, I purchased Shocking Coral (all which I have reviewed). Since I go to Target often, I ended up getting them one by one and now, I have 7 out of the 10 that are in the permanent line and Vibrant Mandarin is one of them.

From the picture, you can see that Vibrant Mandarin is a fiery red-orange.


It was kind of hard to get a picture of the lipstick in the tube with the accurate color because it was pretty bright.

You can click on the pictures to make them a bit bigger. Since the image uploader for blogger changed, it does not allow me to manage the size I want it to be to show on my blog.
For the first lip picture, I took it in direct sunlight. The other two were taken indoor, with the middle one being in front of the window.

From the tube, it looks like a red-orange. The color from the tube and on the lips is pretty accurate, but when applied, it is more like a red-orange coral (if that makes sense). When I'm outdoors, it looks more like a red-orange, but indoors and in indirect sunlight, it appears more coral. Although it is an orange-ish shade, it is very wearable because it leans more to being red. If your lips are dry, it is better to exfoliate before using this because it will apply looking very flaky.

Like the other shades from the Vivids line, I love it!


& here is a picture of me wearing it (indoor).

These retail for $5.50 at Target/Walmart and Ulta, CVS, & Rite Aid has them for $7.49 - $9.99.

What do you think about these lipsticks? Have you tried anything from Maybelline's Color Sensational Vivids line? Which is your favorite?

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Zoya PixieDust: Chyna & Dahlia

Swatches & Review

Zoya PixieDust is part of Zoya's Spring collection. It consists of 6 shades with their PixieDust texture finish. The two colors I tried first are Chyna and Dahlia. Normally, I post collection swatches with the nail polishes altogether, but since this was my first time trying the PixieDust formula, I decided to test the wear our for a week.



To apply these, you need to apply a thin first layer, wait for it to fully dry & then apply a second coat.


Chyna: Shimmery bright ruby red with red & silver glitter.
Dahlia: Shimmery black with silver glitter.

Since these were applied without a base coat and without a top coat, I decided to see how well they held up. By day three, there was a bit of tip wear, but it was not very noticeable.

On day four and five, there was noticeable tip wear on my left hand. Since I use my right hand more, I noticed by the fifth day, my index and middle finger had more wear on the nail polishes. Prior to the fifth day, the nail polish on the right hand only showed a bit of tip wear.

Day six was the last day I had these on. As you can tell, the ones on my left hand had a pretty good wear of these since they lasted very well. However, my right hand had nail polish that was chipping off.

I think I have grown to like the finish of this. When it was on my nails the first day, the texture of these felt rough, but not enough to feel like sand paper. I noticed that after a day, the texture of it feeling rough did not feel as rough anymore. It felt more like a sugary-sand texture compared to the first day I had it. The longer I wore it, the softer it became. Although there was no base coat or top coat, I feel that these held up pretty well. I was worried the removal was going to be a pain because when I wear glitter nail polishes, it is hard for me to take off (even with the foil method!), but for these, it came off very easily. I used Zoya's nail polish remover and placed the cotton with it onto my nails for about a minute. After having the cotton ball there for a minute, the PixieDust texture nail polish came off very easily without sticking to my nails & my skin. I also like that the cap does not attract fingerprints like their regular caps do. Although the finish of this took a little to get used to, I actually like it. For a texture nail polish, it stays on well and it is easy to remove, which is a plus for me!

What do you think about these? Are you going to get some of the nail polishes from this collection?

These are available for purchase on Zoya.com now, and they retail for $9 per 0.5oz bottle.

*The products in this post were provided to me for my honest opinion/review. I was not paid nor compensated for the review.

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Giveaway: NYX Bohemian Chic Palette

Giveaway!

Hi everyone! This morning, I logged onto my blog right before class started & I saw that I have reached 300 followers! I was super excited because I have also been planning a giveaway for it for a while now.

NYX's Bohemian Chic Palette is an all-matte eyeshadow palette & it is neutral with a few blue shades in the pullout drawer along with two matte blushes.




Please enter using Rafflecopter. The two mandatory things to do is to follow my blog via GFC and to leave a comment on what your favorite eyeshadow finish for the spring/summer season is. There are also optional entries, such as letting the word out about the giveaway, as well as following me on Instagram, and facebook. I will be checking on whether or not you have did the things that you have submitted, or your entry will be deleted.

This giveaway will end on April 5th 2013 at Midnight PST and I will announce the winner on the blog after the giveaway has ended, so remember to check back! This giveaway is open to US residents only 18 & above.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: This giveaway is not sponsored by NYX. I have purchased the item(s) in this blog post with my own money. This is for a new NYX Bohemian Chic Palette, meaning it has never been used. However, I have opened it before purchasing it to make sure the eyeshadows were not broken.

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OPI Spring/Summer 2013

Upcoming Collections:
Today, a friend of mine sent me two pictures of upcoming OPI nail polishes & asked if I have heard about them. I have not heard about them, but I feel like a lot of people would like the new releases of their Liquid Sand texture nail polishes.

The first collection is supposed to be released before summer called The Bond Girls. Remember they had a James Bond collection for the Holidays? Well this focuses on the girls played in the movies & they are all liquid sand finishes! For me, I think Tiffany Case looks very nice in the promo pictures.


The next collection is called Couture Minnie and it should be released after the Bond Girls. I wonder why OPI is going to release another Minnie Mouse collection since they just released a Minnie Mouse themed collection for last summer. The shades look similar to the ones from last year, but the glitter is different & there is a liquid sand finish included. This collection will consist of 5 nail colors compared to last year, which only had 4.

What do you think about these upcoming OPI releases? Are you a fan of their Liquid Sand formula?

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Revlon Deal at Rite Aid 03/03 - 03/09

Deal Alert!

Last month, Rite Aid had 40% off Revlon Cosmetics TWICE in a month! Today is the last day for their 40% off, however, starting tomorrow (&throughout the week), Revlon Lip and Mascara items will all be $4.99!

I know a lot of Revlon's Lip items such as their Lip Butters and Balm Stain has been out for a while, but with the sunnier seasons coming up, I definitely recommend some of the bright shades from their Balm Stain because they are super pigmented & long lasting! The balm stains normally retail for $8.99 at Rite Aid locations, so $4.99 for it is almost half off!

Another good deal is at Target, where coupons.target.com has a coupon for $3 off a Revlon facial cosmetics item.

I have previously reviewed Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation & I love it! The Nearly Naked foundation retails for $7.49 at Target and with the $3 off coupon, it comes out to be $4.49, which is an amazing deal for foundation! It is perfect if you have been wanting to try it.

Another coupon that has been up for a while from Target is $1 off a Maybelline cosmetic item. I have reviewed 3 Maybelline Vivids & I have been loving them as well. They retail for $5.49 at Target & with $1 off, it makes it $4.49, which is not bad for an amazing vibrant lipstick for Spring & Summer!


The coupons on Target will be on their site until all coupons are claimed & the Revlon deal at Rite Aid will begin tomorrow and will last until next Saturday! :)

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OCC Lip Tar: Hoochie

Swatches & Review

Since my last review on OCC Lip Tar's, I have purchased a lot more since Sephora started carrying the brand & with some coming in sets. Recently, OCC Lip Tar has come out with the Pro's Pick Lip Tar Set V.2, which has Hoochie in there & that is the first shade that I have tried so far in the set.

Hoochie is described as a Vibrant Magenta.


In the tube, it looks like a Barney pink/purple, but once applied on the lips, it is more of a purple.

For the first lip picture, I took it in direct sunlight. The other two were taken indoor, with the middle one being in front of the window.

As you can see, the color when worn outdoors look more warm than when indoors. Compared to the description of it being magenta, I would say that it does not look very magenta. To me, this look more of a purple than pink, however, I do agree that it is very vibrant. Although it does not seem to fit the description, I love this shade! I have been looking for a nice purple shade and most of the purple lip colors I have been trying leans more pink and this is absolutely perfect for me! Like all the previous lip tars I have reviewed, these dry semi-matte and can be drying on the lips after a while. I like putting glosses over these for a bit of a "pop" to it. The staying time on this was better than a few previous lip tars that I have tried. It did not become patchy after a while, but it stayed vibrant for a good 4 hours before it started to fade.
This retails individually for $18 (the price has gone up again) & can be purchased at Sephora.com, select Sephora locations & OCCMakeup.com.
If you are interested in the Pro's Pick Lip Tar Set V.2, it retails for $49 & can be purchased at Sephora.com and select Sephora locations.
What do you think about Hoochie? What is your favorite Lip Tar?

Here is a picture of me wearing the shade & one w/ my boyfriend :)

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Zoya Summer 2013 PixieDust

Press Release:

After coming out with PixieDust for Spring, Zoya has decided to make summer editions with their PixieDust finish!



ZOYA PIXIE DUST - SUMMER EDITION
•ZP683 - Solange: EXCLUSIVE PIGMENT!!! Gold Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
•ZP677 - Beatrix: Tangerine Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
•ZP676 - Destiny: Coral Metal sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula. •ZP682 - Miranda: Rose sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
•ZP675 - Stevie: Violet sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.
•ZP681 - Liberty: Blue sparkle, exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

PixieDust Application: For BEST RESULTS apply 1-3 (for full coverage) thin coats of polish. Allow product to dry completely for full effect. Do not use a base coat or top coat.



Find over 300 stunning Zoya colors on www.zoya.com. Each and every color has a name as unique as the women who inspired it.



ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!

$9.00 ea. (US)
Available on Zoya.com



SHIPPING APRIL 1, 2013 (no joke)


Zoya normally starts shipping their Summer collections April 1st every year, so no, it is not an April fools joke. I still have to try the Spring PixieDusts that just came in for me not too long ago, but the colors for the summer ones definitely look great!

What color are you most excited for? Have you tried their PixieDust formula yet? I'm most excited for Beatrix! :)

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