OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Here's a picture of a nail polish that has been all over the blogs lately, but I still must share it because I'm surprised at how much I love it! This is OPI Just Spotted the Lizard from the latest Spiderman collection, which is kind of a weird movie for a nail polish brand to team up with (although I guess it's not much weirder than the Hunger Games).

I picked this up because it's a known dupe for Chanel Peridot, that much-sought-after polish that came out last year. I thought Peridot looked cool, but I would not have paid $25 for it. So when it came out for $8, I decided, why not. I surprisingly LOVE IT! The green-gold duochrome effect is so mesmerizing in person. Although my boyfriend kind of ruined it for me a little bit when he was like, "Hey! Green and gold, just like [our high school] colors!"

P.S. Does anyone else think of this clip from Friends when they hear the word Spiderman? I love Friends!

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!!

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!

butter LONDON Spring/Summer 2012 Swatches: Knackered

As you probably know, I use my very own hard-earned money to pay for everything I show on this blog. So you know if I feature an entire collection of something on this blog, I must love it a whole lot because I paid for it! Well, that's exactly what happened with the Spring/Summer collection from butter LONDON. I saw promo pics of it, and I knew that I was going to end up buying the whole thing. I just love every. single. color!

Which is precisely why I'm going to show swatches of this collection in separate posts. I can't wait to show you guys my first collection swatches, but I want to take my time and enjoy wearing them before I take them off to swatch the next one. So for the next 10-15 days or so, enjoy these swatches of the amazing spring/summer collection from butter LONDON! First up, Knackered, a sheer teal-gray/lavender duochrome with tiny holographic glitter! (I just shivered a little from writing that.)

This photo pretty accurately shows the color-shift of the duochrome.

On the first coat of this polish, I thought there was no way it would build up to opacity. It's very sheer. It would work well as a layering polish, although I personally don't think I would like the way that would look. It becomes pretty opaque at three coats - VNL is still slightly visible but not noticeable. It applies a bit brushstroke-y, and you must wait for each coat to dry before applying the next one or it will drag and create strange "ripples" in the polish - you can kind of see this effect on my middle finger, where I attempted to fill in a bald spot and messed it up.

Blurred to show the holographic glitter

This is such a unique polish, and while I'm still on the fence whether I love it or not, I'm very glad to have it in my collection!

Stay tuned for the remaining four colors from butter LONDON's Spring/Summer collection!