Giveaway! NYX Cosmetics - Eyeshadow, Blush, Gloss and Slide On Liner!

So I thought this would be a fun giveaway as everyone loves NYX Cosmetics.  I picked out several items that could produce a complete look.  I love the Mega Shine Glosses as they have great color payoff and lasting power.  I hear the Slide On Pencils are amazing as well so I purchased one for myself and one for the giveaway :)

In this giveaway you will receive the following items:

• (2) NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in the following colors:  LG104 Sweet Heart and LG129 Beige
• NYX Powder Blush in the color PB 06 Peach
• NYX Slide on Liner in the color SL07 Jet Black
• NYX Eyeshadow Trio in the color TS03 Nude/Taupe/Dark Brown

All of these items are brand new!

Check out my friend Amber's aka Glamtrotter's review of the NYX Slide On Pencils-she swears by them!

http://glamtrotter.com/nyx-slide-on-eye-liner-review-swatches/

Giveaway rules are as follows:

-Must be a follower of my blog
-Must be 18 or over or have a parents permission
-Giveaway is International
-Giveaway will run for 3 weeks ending February 20, 2012

PLEASE CLICK ON THE "READ MORE" BELOW TO SEE THE RAFFLECOPTER INFORMATION IF YOU DO NOT SEE IT.  Please enter through Rafflecopter and follow the instructions.  The only mandatory item is that you follow my blog and leave a comment below on your favorite NYX product or if you haven't tried NYX which product would you like to try?  All other entries are for extra points!  Thanks so much!

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Inglot Eyeshadow & Blush Swatches - If you don't know, now you know!

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit an Inglot standalone store.  There are only a few in the US so I was very excited to check out the store.  For some of you who are not familiar with Inglot they are an International cosmetic company that originated in Poland.  In many cases they are compared to MAC in the makeup world, however, they are significantly cheaper than MAC.  Ingot is more famously known for their customizable palettes called the Freedom System.  They have several configurations of palettes to fit your needs.  The palettes are magnetized and extremely durable.  Check out the possibilities:

http://www.inglotusa.com/Freedom_System-Palettes.html

One notable thing about Inglot is that the eyeshadows are twice the size of MAC Shadows.  A single MAC shadow is 1.5g ($11.50) where an Inglot square shadow is 2.7g ($5).  You really do get more bang for your buck with Inglot.  In addition, the pigmentation and color payoff is amazing.  You barely have to rub your brush on the shadow to get intense color.  The only downfall is that Inglot is not as easily accessible as MAC.  They are starting to branch out and adding counters in select Macy's locations, however, there are only 9 stores in the US.  They do have a website that you can order from.  I know how difficult it is to purchase makeup online, however, if you decide to it's probably best you locate some swatches on blogs to have a better idea of what you will get.  I definitely recommend giving Inglot a try.  Here are some of the goodies I picked up.  I am also attaching pictures of the palette I bought last November so that you can see the swatches.  

I originally purchased the 4 pan blush palette as I was told that each of the blush pans can fit two shadows-they gave me the wrong palette in my bag :(

Eyeshadow swatches with the shadow names

Blush swatch - in the color 25

Trio eyeshadow palette with blush

Swatches - The rainbow shadows are $7, it's like getting 3 shadows in one!

I've also purchased a nail polish last year and really like it.  Has anyone else tried any Inglot products and what are your thoughts?http://www.inglotusa.com/Freedom_System-Palettes.html

Maybelline Color Tattoo First Impressions

So I gave into the buzz and jumped onto the Maybelline Color Tattoo bandwagon.  After watching a few video reviews on YouTube I decided to give it a whirl.  I purchased one at Rite Aid last Tuesday and was skeptical on picking up any more until I knew it would be worth it.  On Friday night I watched Makeupbyleina's YouTube review raving about all of the colors, so on Saturday morning I embarked on a mission to locate a few more.  I scored two more at CVS for $7.50 each and was able to get $5 in CVS bucks when I bought two so it wasn't too bad.

Now many people are comparing these little beauties to MAC paint pots.  Although I own a few paint pots, I can't say if they perform the same way as I use paint pots strictly as a eyelid primer so the colors that I own are neutral skin toned ones that I put eyeshadow over.  If you are familiar with MAC paint pots they do not have nearly the color range that these Maybelline shadows have.  As well, MAC paint pots are 5g and Color Tattoo's are 4g.

As a test, before we went out to dinner last night I used the color tattoo on my eyelid without using any primer (which is rare for me as eyelid primer in my book is a must), but since I read reviews that the color tattoos do not need a primer I wanted to test this out.  I wore the shadow for about 6 hours and noticed no creasing whatsoever.  As well, the vibrancy of the color seem to last.  It applied smoothly using my finger and blended well with my eyeshadow that I used in my crease.  I really do think these are a great deal and the packaging is nice and durable, it's worth a try and if you search around you may find a deal on these.

Here are some photos to enjoy :)

From L-R and Top to Bottom: Pomegranate Punk,  Tough as Taupe and Audacious Asphalt

L-R Description:

Pomegranate Punk - A Maroon Shimmer

Tough as Taupe - A Dark Taupe Matte

Audacious Asphalt - A Gunmetal Shimmer

Swatches L-R:  Pomegranate Punk, Tough As Taupe and Audacious Asphalt

Wearing Pomegranate Punk on my eyelid and MAC Beauty Marked in my outer V

Another photo of Pomegranate Punk on my eyelid

I apologize for the bad lighting on the close up photos of my eye, however it was already evening and couldn't get any good lighting.  Did any of you pick up any Maybelline Color Tattoo's shadows and what are your thoughts? If so, what are your favorite colors?

Deborah Lippman Addicted To Speed Top Coat - Move Over Seche Vite..Here's Something Healthier..

I discovered Seche Vite a little over ten years ago.  I had my nails done at the salon next to when I lived and the manicurist used Seche Vite and I was in love ever since.  I am a nail polish junkie and through all my findings I had never experienced a top coat that was quite as glossy that left your nails feeling glass-like.  Just simply luxurious.  And your nails feel dry unbelievably quick.  Until I tried Deborah Lippman's Addcited To Speed....

Let me backtrack a little here, earlier last year I started becoming increasingly concerned about this whole 3 Free nail polish thing.  For those of you who are not sure what that means it means the polish is free of Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene-chemicals that are known to be harmful.  Now to what extent of damage they can do is a little unknown still, but for me I wanted to be a little "greener" in general.  AND to top it off, I guess I haven't been reading labels like I should but Seche Vite clearly marks on the bottle, "WARNING! This product contains a chemical known in the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm."  Admittedly I had used Seche Vite throughout both of my pregnancies and both of my little girls appear to be completely healthy but going forward I wanted to eliminate chemicals and toxins as much as I can.  I didn't think I could give up Seche Vite until I found Deborah Lippman's Addicted to Speed....

Now, you can argue with me that it is twice as expensive as Seche Vite at $20 a bottle.  But....for those of you who are loyal users of Seche Vite, you know as well as I do how hard it is to finish a bottle of Seche Vite without it getting unbelieveably thick and goopy to the point that you just toss it out.  I know that Seche Vite sells some type of thinner you can add to the bottle but I found it ridiculous that you have to purchase an additional product to make your current one last longer.  Plus I am sure the thinner works fine but I have this mental block that makes me think when you add something to polish you are somehow messing with the integrity and performance of the polish itself.  I know wierd, but that's just me.  I have the bottles to prove it, here are my bottles that I accumulated that are unfinished because they got too thick.  I threw them away as soon as I found Deborah Lippman.

In addition, I tried a few of the Sally Hansen top coats and didn't feel like they performed quite as well as Seche Vite did.

Deborah Lippman is definitely on the pricier side of nail polishes, however, so many of the colors are unique and I am all for healthier nail polish.  I started using the Deborah Lippman topcoat in October so I can't say yet if i am going to have the thickness problem that I had with Seche Vite.

It's worth a try, if you purchase it at Nordstrom you can always take it back no questions asked just keep the box with the return sticker on it.  Hope this helps!

Also for those who are curious about what polishes are 3 Free here is a post I found, I am sure there is something more updated but this answered most of my concerns/questions.

http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2008/04/go-green-healthier-polish.html

NOTD-Zoya Marley Lovely Lilac!

So yet again I have another Zoya NOTD.  Wow, I just ordered 6 more Zoya polishes a few days ago and I am so tempted to order 2 of their Mylar fleck effect polishes.  I have my eye on Maisie and Chloe.  I have seen swatches on other blogs so google the collection to find a blog swatch because I thnk it'll help a lot making your decision.  Check out the colletion on Zoya's site:

Zoya Fleck Effect Mylar Hollographic Spring 2012 Collection

Here is a picture of the color Marley I had on today.  I really didn't have good lighting today and my first picture doesn't do the color any justice as it's a little brighter lilac than the picture below shows.

So I threw a filter on Instagram and it brightened the color up, however, in true life the actual color is probably something in the middle of the two pictures.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday! Has anyone else found any great Zoya colors that they've fallen in love with?

NOTD-Zoya Erika Baby Pink Polish With Gold Shimmer

Ok, so you are going to see quite a few nail of the day pictures and posts because I was fortunate to stock up on quite a bit of Zoya polish through a few of the flash promos that Zoya was holding on twitter during the month of December.  Zoya currently has another promo for get two nail polishes free and just pay shipping that will run until January 9, 2012 using the promo code ZOYA2012.

Neutrals and pinks have always been my "go to" colors while I was working in corporate america due to the conservative nature of the work I did.  More recently I had gotten back into more trendy and dark nail polishes but somehow found my way back to the pink colors again, hence my interest in the color Erika.  Now admittedly I typically gravitate towards pale pinks such as OPI Sweetheart or OPI Bubble Bath.  The color Erika is a true baby pink brighter than the pink colors mentioned above.  It also boasts a beautiful subtle gold shimmer that you can see in the picture more towards the top of the bottle.  I used two gracious coats of polish to really get a vibrant color, however, I may try to tone the pink down next time by using a softer pink or white coat followed by a coat of the Erika color.