China Glaze Optical Illusion

I was so excited when I first heard about the China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Glitters collection, but then I saw them at Ulta and they didn't look nearly as cool as I thought they would. I mean, they still looked awesome, cuz they're pure glitterbombs, but I wasn't seeing the duochrome effect that was promised. Today, though, I decided I had to see for myself and decided to pick up Optical Illusion because it seemed to have the strongest duochrome effect out of all of them. 

Man am I glad I gave this one a chance! It is pure glittery awesomeness. There are so many colors of glitter in here I can't even tell you, but the overall color is a light aqua blue. There is a slight purple shift when you move your fingers. I can't wait to see this outside in the sun tomorrow!!

NOTD - Sunny Yellow

I've got one complaint about living in Chicago - the weather. I don't even mind the snow and the cold, I actually like it. The thing I don't like is when it insists on sticking around after it's worn out its welcome. We're almost at May, here, people, and it's still in the 40s! The sun keeps shining, though, so I wore Revlon Sunshine Sparkle, a sunny buttercup yellow with slight shimmer, to help urge summer along.

It seemed streaky at first, but it evened out after three coats. I LOVE the color, even though it's making my hands look lobster red in the photo! I swear it didn't look like that in real life! I just wish the shimmer had shown up a little bit more, but oh well.

Yellow nail polish has become something of an obsession for me as of late. I recently purchased a neon yellow from American Apparel that I plan to post soon. Would you wear yellow nail polish?

NOTD - Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Not A Peep

If you read my last post about Sally Hansen Salon Effects, you know how big of a fan I am of them. They're too expensive for me ($10 for a one-use kit) to use them all the time, but I just love them for special occasions or when you're in a pinch and you need to do your nails, but don't have time to wait for them to dry.

I picked up this spring design called Not A Peep. I wore these for Easter! It is a silvery white background with adorable little multi-colored birdies all over. I had a little bit more trouble applying these ones than the ones I've used in the past, however. They were definitely still amazing and held up really well (I wore them for I think 4 or 5 days before I got bored and took them off). But they didn't quite stick as well to the edges of my nails, and one of them tore a little bit as I was trying to press it down.

The other thing that bothered me, which I didn't even think about until I started applying them, is that the design only goes one way, unlike the other designs I've used. One thing I love about these strips is that each end is curved differently so you can choose which one fits the shape of your cuticle best. I wanted my birdies facing towards me, so for a couple nails I had to choose the side that was less suited to my nail shape.

But, overall I really liked this design. Still a huge fan!

Sorry about the dry-looking skin here. I wiped my nails with acetone before applying to make sure I got rid of any residue that would prevent the decal from sticking. 

EOTD - Bright Orange with NYX!

Did you know that orange is my favorite color? It's just so sunny and bright and happy, and it looks good on me as a blondie with a warm skin tone. I've been on the hunt for the perfect orange eyeshadow, and I think I've finally found it!! 

I actually own a NYX single shadow called Hot Orange, which is a good matte bright orange, but it has bits of gold flaky glitter in it and the fallout in it drives me crazy. I have been eyeing the NYX Shangri-La palette for a while because of the amazing orange shadow in the center. I finally caved and bought it this weekend. Here's the look I did using all three shadows in the palette:

First, I primed my lid with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original. Then, I patted the yellow shade from the trio all over the inner two-thirds of my lid. I patted the peachy shade on the outer third. Then, I blended the amazing orange shade into the crease and outer V. I lined my upper and lower lashline with Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Bourbon, a warm brown with gold sparkle. I set the liner with the brown-with-gold-sparkle shade from the Sonia Kashuk Bronzed Beauty eyeshadow quad, and smudged the brown shadow a bit onto the lower lashline. Finally, I swept my lashes with Clinique High Impact mascara in Black. 

 

I rank the quality of the shadows in the Shangri-La palette from best to worst: orange, yellow, peach. The orange is amazingly pigmented, applies smoothly and blends well. The yellow shade had pretty good pigmentation, although it could be better, and it was a bit gritty. Still, one of the best yellow shadows I've tried. The peach came out much frostier than I expected, and looked more like a light peachy-silver shade than the bright peach color of the pan. But these NYX palettes are so affordable that if you're looking for a great orange eyeshadow, buy this palette just for that one shade!

FOTD - Spring Nighttime Going-out Look

I love wearing bright lip colors in the spring and summer. In fact, I hardly own a nude lipstick - they are all bright pink or orange! I was going out this Saturday night to see my boyfriend's band play, so I wanted a smokey going-out eye, but I also wanted to wear my new favorite hot pink lipstick - Cover Girl Color Sensational lipstick in Fuchsia Fever. I love how it accentuates tanned skin, and its a great pink for day or night. I sometimes struggle with pairing a bright lip and smokey eye, and I think I successfully did it here! Here's what I did:

First I applied my new foundation, Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup in 22 (P), my new shade for my tanned skin. I then contoured a bit with NYX Matte Bronzing Powder in Medium, and added e.l.f. Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed, a shimmery golden bronzer, to the cheeks and cheekbone. I filled in my brows with the Smashbox Brow Tech kit in Blonde.

On the eyes, I smudged Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Tough as Taupe, a brownish gray, with my finger all over the lid. To set this, I patted Urban Decay Tease (which I find is the perfect shadow to set Tough as Taupe with because it's almost exactly the same color) all over the lid and lower lash line. I accentuated the outer V with NYX Nude Matte Eyeshadow in Confession, a medium-dark matte gray. For the crease and outer lower lash line, I used Ulta eyeshadow in Mesmerize, a cheaper version of Urban Decay Lounge or Mac Club. It's a reddish brown base with a teal duochrome flash. I used it wet because it wasn't showing up dark or duochrome-y enough dry. I lined my upper lashline with Urban Decay Blackout. I coated my lashes with Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black.

I moisturized my lips with a bit of Burt's Bees balm before applying Maybelline lip liner in Clear. I then applied my Cover Girl Color Sensational lipstick in Fuchsia Fever. This lipstick looks just as amazing for a day look with nothing but a bronzed face and a swipe of mascara!

Ready to go out tonight!

I've been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award!

I'm so excited! My first blog award, and I've only been blogging for three whole months! Thank you so much to Nail Notes for nominating me!

Here are the rules:

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.
2. Let them know that you have nominated them.
3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you.
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post.

Here are my 15 nominations:

1. Lacquer Man (a regular old dude who appreciates the art of painting his nails! Reminds me of my mom's boyfriend who likes to get a design painted on his big toenail at the salon every once in a while. Nice!)
2. It's OK for Men to Have Painted Nails in Public (Lacquer Man's buddy!)
3. The Blush Brush
4. Full of Frivol
5. Joyce and Makeup
6. Cult of Pretty
7. Bellaesque
8. Gery the Shipping Guy (not exactly a blog, I know, but still really cool!)
9. Katie's Beauty Blog (she's been blogging for a while, actually, but I met her when I studied in London so I had to give her a shout out!)
10. Stephen Style (I went to school with him, and saw on Facebook that he was blogging about fashion and had to check it out!)
11. Give Me Polish
12. Strawberry Blonde Beauty
13. Saima's Salon
14. Glazed Talons
15. See Sarah Swatch

7 Random Facts:

1. I'm very organized, love making lists and calendars, and am obsessed with color coordinated everything.
2. I have a pet bunny! His name is Coco. He is a brown and white Dutch Dwarf, he's 4 years old and he's the most adorable thing ever.
3. I have had the same wallet since I was about 11 years old. It's a brown leather wallet from Fossil. My uncle gave it to me as a present and it's probably one of the things I've owned the longest in my whole life.
4. I love to read on my Nook. I'm currently reading Game of Thrones (I know, where have I been??)
5. I've lived in South Africa, South Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore. We lived all over the world when I was little because of my dad's job, but we moved back to the U.S. permanently when I was about 10, so I don't really remember a lot of it.
6. My best friend and I love to bake together. Our most recent obsession is cinnamon rolls.
7. I have a younger brother who's in the Marines. He's pretty awesome. 

Thanks again to Nail Notes for my nomination!

Farrah and Paulie: Yes, I named my nail art, so what?

I painted some adorable birds on my nails and named them. The pink one is Farrah and the blue one is Paulie. They're two lovebirds celebrating spring by flying around in a field of cute flowers. I heart them.

I used a heck of a lot of polish for this. Here they all are:
(Bottom Row)
OPI Did You Ear About Van Gogh?
Sally Hansen Clearly Buff Naturel White
butter london Bossy Boots
butter london Lady Muck
butter london Trout Pout
American Apparel Dynasty
Deborah Lippman Across the Universe
(Top Row)
Sinful Colors Easy Going

China Glaze Starboard

China Glaze Life Preserver
And on the bottom there is my trusty Orly detailer brush.

Anyway, this post is pretty picture-heavy. Enjoy the photos :) I know my nail art's not perfect, but I think it's a pretty cute spring/Easter mani. Happy Easter to those who celebrate/enjoy eating jelly beans and chocolate bunnies!