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!

Review of Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Spring Fever

Vacation, all I ever wanted...vacation, have to get away!

I just got home from being in South Florida for the week and I already want to go back! My mom lives in Hollywood, FL and it's always really nice to go down there and see her (and sit on the beach, of course!)

I learned one valuable nail lesson on my way down there last week. I packed a couple bottles of nail polish (color-coordinated with my bikinis, of course) in my carry-on wheeler bag. I thought nothing of it, being that each bottle is way below the 3oz. rule. Of course, they stopped me at security and had me unload my nail polish bottles. They wouldn't let me bring them through because nail polish is flammable. Which I knew, but my brain wasn't screwed in right that day I guess. So I ended up having to pay $25 to check my bag. (It was either that or throw out about $30 worth of nail polish!! THE HORROR!)

Thats where these Sally Hansen Salon Effects kits come in. Let this be a lesson to you (and me) - if you're going on a short trip where you only need a carry-on, pack one or two of these kits instead of nail polish bottles. You won't have to pay to check a bag, and you'll still be able to enjoy the versatility of changing your mani while you're on vacation!

I adore the Sally Hanson Salon Effects nail polish strips. This flowery design, called Spring Fever (pink, yellow, orange, and purple flowers, new for spring 2012), is the third design I've tried from them. They are on the expensive side ($10 per kit for a one-time use), but they are worth it for those times that you need to change your mani but don't have time to wait for it to dry. 

I wore this mani the entire time I was in Florida (8 days!) and it held up pretty well. I have some solid tip wear and a tiny chip or two. The reason I love the Salon Effects over other nail stickers I've tried is that they are not actually stickers - they are made with real nail polish, so once they are stuck to your nails, they're really on there! They do not peel off or bubble up. Then just use regular nail polish remover to take them off!

Applying them is pretty easy, and takes about the same amount of time it would for me to paint my nails. You don't use a base or top coat with them. Just make sure your nails are totally clean and dry. Each kit comes with 16 (I think) stickers of various sizes and shapes, so you can pick the ones that fit your nails the best. I included a thumb shot because I have pretty wide thumbnails, and the widest sticker actually covered my whole nail! Just peel the backing off and carefully line it up on your nail, then press it down. Use the enclosed nail file to file off the excess sticker. Then you're done! Easy peasy.

So, fat lot of good it did me to pay that $25 to check my bag. Shoulda just packed this Sally Hansen Salon Effects kit and I would have been good to go! Humph. Lesson learned, folks!

NOTD - Unicorn Dust

Hey. Last time I saw you, there was like a foot of snow on the ground. (OK, I'm exaggerating.) Now, it's like summer up in here! Have I really been away that long? What, it's only been two weeks? How could the weather change that drastically in that amount of time? Oh, right, I live in Chicago. Global warming is also to blame. Yes, let's blame global warming for me not posting for two weeks. Darn you, global warming!

In reality, I've been sick (again!) and finishing up the winter term at school. I did this mani back when it was still wintery outside. I snatched up this butter LONDON glittery topcoat, Tart With A Heart, a few weeks ago. It's a clear base with tiny gold glitter and larger opalescent round glitter. It has a golden pinkish tint overall, so I think it would look gorgeous over a rose-colored polish. Must try that next time.

However, I was craving a bit of color at the time, so I decided to layer it over another butter LONDON color from the Spring 2012 collection, Slapper. This combination reminds me of unicorns or fairies. I love it.

NOTD - Batman on my Nails

I love the movie The Dark Knight. I think Christian Bale makes a perfectly brooding Batman, and Heath Ledger is an even more insane Joker. The fact that it was filmed in my hometown makes me love it even more. (Whenever I watch it, I'm always shouting out, 'Hey, that car chase was filmed on Lower Wacker!' or 'The parade is in front of that building on LaSalle!') So I can't stop calling this butter LONDON polish The Dark Knight. I feel a little invincible when I wear it, like I have a suit of impenetrable armor and an unlimited supply of awesome gadgets at my disposal.

It's actually called The Black Knight. It is a black jelly with tiny silver glitter and larger chunks of fuchsia and turquoise glitter. I did three coats to get it opaque. You could probably layer it over a black creme to get some more mileage out of the bottle, but I love to wear jellies by themselves to let their true finish shine. It applied amazingly well, not goopy and thick like some glitters can be. My one issue with this polish is that, unlike Batman's suit, it is not impenetrable. It chipped like crazy. I touched up a chip less than 12 hours after I applied it, and within 48 hours my nails were a hot mess. It's still such a sparkly awesome polish though, and it's perfect for going out.

What do you think of this polish? What polish makes you feel like a badass superhero?