Urban Decay Sale!

Oh man, two makeup blogs in one day?  Oh yeah.  This one is a BIG one.


I absolutely adore Urban Decay.  I own almost every eyeshadow palette (except Book of Shadows Vol 1 and the Alice in Wonderland palette), all three of the eyeshadow primer potions, and I just started dabbling in their 24/7 eye liner pencils.  I also picked up my first MAC pigments last week but didn't get the Urban Decay ones when they were on sale at Hautelook (kicking myself, I know).


So when I got this email this morning, I nearly died.


Urban Decay $5 Deals
Ultraglide Lip Gloss $17 - now $5
Smoke Out Eye Pencil $14 - now $5
Loose Pigment $20 - now $5
Vintage Brushes 50% off.


Why are you still here?  Go shop now! 
Urban Decay [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter]


Update!  I bought all 12 pigments myself ($60 total) and I got free priority USPS shipping, and TWO free samples.  Wee!

Dermelect Pore Revolution and T-Zone Mattifier

Dermelect is a new brand to me - I found them through browsing online.  They have their website [official website], Facebook Fan Page [Facebook] and Twitter page [Twitter].  They offer tons of products, from anti-aging to face, lips, nails, etc.  I haven't tried their products yet, but this came through my email (by accident actually!), and I'm interested in it.

As I've mentioned before, I live in South Texas... Mexico is a day trip away.  It's super hot and super humid down here.  I don't wear a lot of makeup because of it - normally just eyeshadow and sometimes lipstick.  Mattifiers are quite the rage right now too, with the heat and humidity - it's good not to look super shiny all day long.

Please enjoy the following release:

PORE REVOLUTION & T-ZONE MATTIFIER, $28

• Revolutionary, powdery cream that works to instantly control shine and reduce large, clogged pores resulting in a fresh, pure matte finish.
• Specially designed for the mid-face and t-zone area, containing salicylic acid which stimulates cellular turnover and penetrates pores to sweep away blockage, while watercress extract helps clarify the skin.
• Natural soothers such as willow leaf extract calm even the most irritant prone skins.
• Instantly helps diminish pore size and represses shine!
• Available on www.dermelect.com and at C.O. Bigelow in NYC.

400 Followers Giveaway [US & Canada] Winner!

Thank you again to the 40 readers who signed up for my CSN sponsored giveaway!!!  Only 40 people signed up for this one but there was only one winner (sorry!).


The winner has been contacted by email.  If I don't hear back by 17 July, I will choose a new winner.


Congratulations to 20: Tierney!

400 Followers Giveaway! [Everyone] Winners!

So.


I'm learning a lesson today.  People either don't like cash, or do use PayPal, or don't like PayPal.  So I've already talked to a polish company and they will be sponsoring my 500 followers giveaway (or at least part of it).  So tell your friends to join PolishGalore, so we can have a (better) giveaway!


However, to the 44 readers who DID enter my giveaway, thank you.  You had a one in 11 chance of winning!  Wee!


I have already emailed the winners to get their PayPal email address so I can send you some munnies ^_^


The winners (in random order)
5 - TropicalChrome
42 - Michaela S
18 - destany 
33 - Alisa


Please note that I need to hear back from you by 17 July, or I will choose a new winner.

Zoya Exchange Haul

Well I procrastinated quite a bit, and then I paid by check (which takes an extra 10 days to process >_<) so I just got my Zoya polishes on 9 July.  Of course I have super nubbins again because I busted my hand on a concrete wall and chip splitted my nail, so I just cut everything off to be even (and filed/buffed... the good stuff).  Time to break out some Seche Rebuild!


Here's just a down and dirty picture of the polishes I picked up.  Aria and Ivy were actually a mistake.  I helped Ivy in Australia by buying her polishes for her (and I'll be sending them to her) but I placed my order before she finished giving me hers... so I decided to just keep Aria and Ivy for myself and order her a pair for herself.

Can you tell that I like purple?

Aria is a glitter from the Sirens collection.
Ivy is a shimmer from the Magique collection.
Yummy and Juicy are cremes from the Candy collection.
Demi is a creme from the Dare collection.
Areetha is a metallic from the Diva collection.
Zara is a duchrome from the Flourish collection.
Vegas Freeze is a glitter from the Glamsicles collection.
Harlow and Savita are mattes from the Matte Velvet collection.


I'm super excited to try these all.  Juicy and Demi look VERY similar so I'm looking forward to doing some comparisons as well.


Zoya [official website] can be purchased on their website for $7/bottle.

Cheeky Monkey Lucky U

So, here's the deal.  Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics was super nice enough to send me a press sample of their new Spring 2010 colors, Tease, Get Wet, Booty Call and Filthy Madame.

The first time, Filthy Madame exploded  in the mail (yes, exploded) due to this insane Texas heat, and ruined Get Wet and Booty Call.  Tease was saved because she was wrapped up in a piece of tissue paper that was separate from the other three.

The second time, Booty Call was the girl to explode, covering Filthy Madame and Get Wet.  

This is when A at CMC and I got creative.  This time, she was going to put each bottle in a plastic zip lock bag, so IN CASE it exploded, it wouldn't get anywhere but the bag.  She also paid the extra expense of using UPS instead of USPS because with Customs, it was taking 10 days for my package to come to me.


So package three... third time's the charm or three strikes and you're out?

So I give up.  It was Filthy Madame again that exploded - check out the dried polish up in the top right hand corner.


However, one good thing came out of all this - which is what this blog is really about.


Coming soon to Cheeky Monkey!  

Lucky U is a metallic spearmint color with a slight pearl thing going on (or at least that's what I kept thinking).  I used a base coat of Cheeky Monkey Wet Dream, 2 coats of Lucky U and a top coat of Seche Vite.

(Boo nubbins.)
See what I mean about that metallic/pearl/PRETTY green?  It's almost like dewy grass - such a happy little color.

Goes well with all that grass I have in the background.  Hurricane Alex was slated to go anywhere from Mexico to 30 miles south of me (where my parents live), and all we ended up getting was TONS of rain.  We're still getting rain.  Anywhere from 1-5 inches a DAY.  Then we get sun.  TONS of sun.  We're talking 100+ degrees.  So guess what rain + sun = ?


MOSQUITOES.  And guess who's allergic to their bites?  Myself and my son.


Anyway, rant over.

Even in the shade, this color is amazing.  No streaking or application issues - actually the hardest thing I had to do was paint my right hand.  I've been swatching so much and staining cabinets in my BRAND NEW KITCHEN, that I haven't had a chance to wear a full manicure in over 3 weeks.  Sigh.


As soon as I get the release date on this beauty, I'll update this blog posting.  Another winner from Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics!  Additionally, and I must mention this... seriously their customer service is amazing.  I called the company directly to talk to A, and she personally answered and we chatted about what was going on with my bad luck.  She even remembered that I was remodeling my kitchen and asked about it!  How many times can you say a company REALLY cared about you?  I can think of very few, but luckily, I've had the chance to work with some amazing polish companies and it just really makes all the difference.


Cheeky Monkey can be purchased on their website [official website] for $15 a bottle.


Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Jitterbug

Here is my last bottle from the Vintage Vixen collection - I'm almost sad!  China Glaze said on their Twitter that the Halloween Set is already sitting on their desk, so at least I have that to look forward to?  Hah.  I still really loved Fortune Teller from last year, especially with Matte Magic on top of it.


Back to Jitterbug - which is a grey chrome with silver micro glitter.  Okay, wait, is it grey or gray?  Apparently it differs depending on where in the US you live?  What?  Blarg.  I'm going with grey.  Or at least, I'm going to try.


Anywho, this was the least exciting color for me, but that's because I'm still looking for my perfect grey (gray?) creme.  I used a base of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Jitterbug and a top coat of Seche Vite.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty!  It's just not my total cup of tea.  Plus I had this itching feeling that I had seen this before.

In the shade, the microglitter comes alive.


That's when it hit me.  Jitterbug reminds me of Man Glaze "Fuggen Ugly" when you add a top coat to it.  Right?

Well, a little bit - Fuggen Ugly has more of a rainbow effect when you add the top coat.  Well I was kinda close!

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald

Have you purchased any of Vintage Vixen yet?  I only have 2 more swatches left - today and tomorrow.  As I mentioned the other day, I actually took all these within about 3 days, but I'm posting one at a time.  Do you prefer to see the entire collection at once, or one per day?  I find as a reader, that when I see some bloggers have all the colors in one post, I skim the post instead of read.  That's just me though - let me know about you in the comments section!


Emerald Fitzgerald is listed as a turquoise green frost with shimmer.  It's definitely darker than Emerald Sparkle, and of course, it's a frost, not a glitter.  It also looks a little like their 2009 Summer Days color, Watermelon Rind, but that has more blue in it.  I may have to do another comparison soon.  ^_^


I used a base coat of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Emerald Fitzgerald and a top coat of Seche Vite.  This application and formula was nice like the rest of the collection - I really didn't have major pooling like some bloggers have mentioned.

This seems more like a dusty turquoise to me but there is definitely some blue in that green.  It's a nice pretty color for fall, for sure.

In my indirect sun picture, you can see a bit more of the shimmer in it - it's almost like looking underwater, which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Midnight Mission vs Dorothy Who?

While I was swatching Midnight Mission, I thought it looked a little bit like Dorothy Who? from the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection, so I thought I'd do a quick comparison.


I used a base of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Midnight Mission and 3 coats of Dorothy Who? (and I should have maybe used a few more...), and a top coat of Seche Vite.  Midnight Mission is a frost whereas Dorothy Who? is a glitter.

Already you can see that Midnight Mission is darker (it is a navy, afterall) that Dorothy Who? but I was still going to try it out on the nail.

In the sun, you can see that yep, they are definitely different.  Midnight Mission is a bit like the older sister of Dorothy Who? to be honest.  You can also see a small bald spot on my middle finger.  Oops.

In the shade, it's the same story.  Oh well, I thought I'd try!

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].

Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration.  For more information, please read this post.

China Glaze Awakening (Halloween)

Last year, I thought that China Glaze outdid itself with Fortune Teller for its 2009 Halloween Set, but just LOOK at this 3 piece "gorgeous and ghoulish glitters" coming out in September!  The purple is "Mummy May I" and it's a vampy wine colored purple base with flecks of hot pink glitter.  The green is "Zombie Zest" and it's a mossy green shade with gold flecks of microglitter.  Finally that orange is "Ick-A-Body" and it's actually a dark green base (!) with orange glitter.  The orange glitter literally takes OVER that dark green.  Included in this set is a bottle of Fast Forward Top Coat.


China Glaze's Facebook Fan Page and their Twitter Page [Twitter Page] includes swatches of all three.  


Now here's the slight kicker.


The colors will be available individually starting in September but this actually 4 piece box set will be only available for professionals (you know, people with cosmetology licenses).  


Update!  I got the 411 on this from China Glaze.  Starting in September, you will be able to buy these 3 colors individually at Sally's Beauty Supply.  This actual 4 piece named "Awakening" with the Fast Forward Top Coat, will be available through other professional retailers (beauty stores), and possibly online too (Head 2 Toe Beauty, 8ty8, etc).  Got it?


However, knowing China Glaze, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they gave a couple away in either their weekly Friday Twitter giveaways, or just as a special treat.  Twitter is seriously THE PLACE to be for companies, and China Glaze has worked it well.


UPDATE 2.0: Please enjoy the following official release

AWAKEN YOUR HALLOWEEN SPIRITS WITH GLAMOURISHLY GOULISH NAILS

China Glaze Introduces Three Limited Edition Halloween Polishes

Los Angeles, CA – (July 2010): Sink your claws into these three ghoulish glitters from China Glaze, perfect for a night of fright! Uniquely alluring and unlike any other Halloween colors before them, this collection is sure to entice. Colors in the promotion include:  

• Zombie Zest: A mossy green shade with gold flecks of micro glitter.
• Ick-A-Body: A dark green base chock full of orange glitter.
• Mummy May I: Vampy, wine colored purple with flecks of hot pink glitter.

The 18 piece display will be available at Sally’s Beauty Supply Stores only and the 4 piece with free Fast Forward Top Coat will be available at all other beauty and nail supply outlets, stores and e-tailers. 

 

 China Glaze (www.chinaglaze.com ) is a division of American International Industries.

 

About American International Industries

For 35 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include 5 Second Nail, Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Correctionist, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, One Touch, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Sweet Mary Jane, Waterworks,  Winning Nails, Woltra and Youthair. For more information about our full line, visit our new website: www.aiibeauty.com

China Glaze [official website] can be found online through several etailers, including my favorite Head2Toe Beauty [official website], Sally's Beauty Supply [official website] as well asTransDesign [official website].