Jewel Box Eyeshadows by Kleancolor

I recently made a quick visit to a local, independent beauty supply store. I came across a treasure trove of pretty eyeshadow palettes that were inexpensive too!

One of the ones that caught my eye was this sparkly palette by Kleancolor. I got palette 01, which has lovely greens and purples. The color pigmentation isn't the best I've seen, but the shimmer is gorgeous. And for $1.99, I think it's a great find.

I'm In Love

I've been on a serious nail polish kick lately.  And I am happy to say that I am in LOVE!  I was recently told about Speciallita nail polishes.  These are from Brazil.  As I scanned their website, guffawing over all of the amazing nail colors, I realized that I HAD to have these in my life.  It was imperative.  (PLEASE NOTE:  These polishes are not 3-Free.  They do contain toluene and formaldehyde.)

Here's the catch:  there aren't many places where you can buy this polish.  The Speciallita website is in Portuguese.  This is daunting to many, but with the help of Google translation, I managed to set up an account.  If you don't have the patience for that, there is a domestic site that has them for sale, look for anything that starts with "HITS".  Here's the difference:  the Brazilian site has the polishes for quite a bit less than the American distributor.  BUT the Brazilian site has CRAZY shipping.  I would recommend it if you want to place a really big order because it does work out less than the American site, but if you only want to try one or two things, save yourself some hassle and order domestically.  (I am contemplating ordering more or even taking orders so I can place one large order at a time, if there is enough interest.  Please let me know if you are interested.)

Now, onto the fun stuff!  (This is a "photo heavy" blog post, sorry!)

I got most of the polishes from the "HITS no Olimpo" collection.  These are gorgeous holographic nail polishes named after the gods of Mount Olympus.  I didn't get all of them because Atena reminded me of another holo I already have.  Hermes and Artemis both have a metallic base with holo and I wasn't too keen on how the swatches I had seen looked.  But I totally snatched up the rest and I am SO glad I did.

  

These polishes have a jelly base and microfine, linear, holographic glitter.  The colors go on smoothly and have good coverage with 2-3 coats.  They dry super-shiny, no topcoat needed.   I can't describe it, but the polish feels good on my nails.  I guess they are so smooth and glossy, it feels different.  I've been coveting Nfu Oh's jelly polishes, but this is my first experience with some and I love them!  I had swatched my nails on a Saturday, with a couple of different brands, but the Speciallita was the only brand to last over a week.  And that is with no base or top coat!

Afrodite is a lovely, warm, medium pink.  

It's unlike a lot of the cooler-toned, silvery-pink holos that are out there.

Apolo is a really gorgeous deep, blue.   I haven't seen anything comparable.

 Dionisio is a royal purple.  

Most of the holos I have or have seen that are purple tend to be muted and silvery.  

I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

But again, I hadn't seen a holo in this color before. 

Now, I HAVE seen light blue holos that are similar to Poseidon.

But since it has such amazing flash to the holo, I decided to get it anyway. 

 I decided to do a side-by-side (L to R) of Techno Teal from China Glaze's "Tronica" collection and Hera and Apolo.

Techno Teal is not a linear holo, like the Speciallita ones, but you get the idea.

 Zeus is black with a gorgeous rainbow of colors!

 I had never come across an orange holo until I found Demeter.

The holo isn't as flashy as some of the others, but I still like it a lot.

I almost passed on Ares.  I wasn't entirely sold on a red holo.

But I was pleasantly surprised when I got it.  It's very pretty!

The next collection I got is called "Mari Moon."  These colors are difficult to describe and impossible to photograph.  If you thought duochromes were fab, then you will be speechless when you see these.  They are multichromatic and look VERY 3-D when you wear them.  There are all sorts of color shifts.  I took many photos...inside, outside, direct light, indirect light...but I was really disappointed that I couldn't catch the true brilliance of these colors.    The color swatches in this blog are KINDA close, but I find they still fall short.  My favorite color of this bunch is Cutie Pie.  As you can see here, there is an purple, blue, aqua, pink multichrome action going on!  It is really amazing.  The other colors are beautiful too and there is something for everyone, but the color shifts in this one make it the "stand out" color of the bunch.

Last but not least, I picked up some of the "Powerpuff Girl" collection and some other odds and ends.  The Powerpuff Girl colors are lovely, pretty much what you see is what you get, but the pink has a lovely pink shimmer and the black, Buttercup color has a green shimmer.  Really pretty!!

The Speciallita brushes are the kind that are kinda flat, so that they are wider and cover more surface area of the nail when you apply the polish.  My only gripe is that some of the brushes are sorta frayed, they don't lie flat and together, there are strays sticking out.    And one of my Blossom PPG polishes has a chip in the bottle.  I haven't contacted Speciallita about it, so I am not sure of what their Customer Service is like, but I will keep you posted.

All in all, when I got these polishes, I thought that I could go the rest of my life and ONLY wear this polishes.  And that is a really big deal for me, since I have more polishes than I could ever wear in my lifetime!

Amazingly Lush Shadows

If you follow me on Facebook, then you have seen the "sneak preview" photos I have posted of the eye shadows I am reviewing.  I came across these while I was looking for more of the 88- and 120-colored eye shadow palettes.  What caught my attention were the claims that these eye shadows are better than MAC's and "flight attendants swear by them" (whatever that sort of thing means).  Anyway, I came across a palette that was pretty inexpensive compared to other ones I found online.

The brand is called Miss Rose. It is sold in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.  The palette I got is the "Shiny 24-Color Wet Eye Shadow."  The colors look amazing in the photos, but when my package arrived, I was lost for words when I opened the palette.  These shadows have SO much shimmer and sparkle!  The colors are beautiful!   And some of the colors are quite similar, but I don't mind since I got this palette just to dip my toes in the Miss Rose water.  In fact, it gives me a reason to try out other palettes!  For now, I will let the product photos speak for themselves.

When I played with these eye shadows, I found that they are extremely soft.  My gut instinct was to use my fingers to apply them.  But I am a tactile person, if something looks like it has a rich texture, then I have to touch it.  Although, the shadows applied best with fingers, a sponge applicator would be my next choice and lastly, I would use a brush.  Since the shadows are so soft, you would really have to dig into it with a brush to load some shadow onto it.  And while I know fingers and sponge applicators are frowned upon, it's just my two cents.  Feel free to apply your shadows how you wish!

I have also found palettes that look identical to the Miss Rose brand.  Some brand names to keep an eye out for are Miss Beauty, Lijindie, Oumeidie, Angel Cosmetics and Angel London.

Dolly Wink Rainbow Crystals

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me that I love all things Japanese.   I lurk at my local Asian grocery store and take in all the beauty products they have to offer.  I covet most of the make-up I see in the Taiwanese magazines I pick up.  The packaging is always awesome and many of the products are quite innovative.

The product I recently picked up is a cream eyeshadow by Dolly Wink.  OH, how I lust for more stuff from Dolly Wink.  But for now, this will have to do.  The cream eyeshadow I picked up is called "Rainbow Sparkles."  Doesn't that sound divine??  Don't you want a rainbow of sparkles on your eyelids?  I know I DO!

 First things first, the packaging is very nice.  The small compact is held onto a card by a small, clear box.  The card folds out and has a lot of tips and info from Dolly Wink creator, Tsubasa Masuwaka.  She's a cutie too.

Upon opening the eyeshadow, it looks like a basic white shimmer at first.  Then when you look closer, you can see tons of tiny flashes of multicolored reflections (which, sadly, don't really show in the photos).  Rainbow sparkle action.  Oh yeah!
 

The photo below, with the product blended out on my arm, shows the best rainbow-sparkly-goodness I could capture with my camera.  It's a really pretty effect.

This is a product I would recommend as a highlighter, whether on the brow or the face or as a stand-alone color for the eyelids.  It stays creamy.  There is some creasing, but it doesn't really bother me with light-colored cream shadows because it just takes a swipe of a finger to smooth it out.  I am thinking this would be great for those summer days when you don't want to fuss with your make-up since you're going to the beach or the pool.  It's quick, easy and very pretty.

You will have to shop around if you are interested in Dolly Wink.  There are quite a few online stores that carry it.  You will find some products on eBay.  This particular product will be around $17 and $19.

Victorian Disco Cosmetics Glitters And Shines

Be forewarned, this post is going to have many photos!

It's been a while since I came across an indie mineral make-up company that I really wanted to try.  But I came across a post on Beautylish.com and submitted my info to test some new products for a new line called Victorian Disco Cosmetics.  I like the name, it sounds lush and sparkly.  Then I started to see some sneak peek photos on their Facebook fan page and the colors looked fabulous!  I was seeing color combinations I had not seen before with other indie brands.  And Victorian Disco Cosmetics has mixed glitters!  So many people sell glitters and they are exactly what arrives from the wholesale company, but these have multiple colors mixed together and they are gorgeous.  These would be perfect if you're wanting to try out the new glittery eyebrows trend!

Cute Packaging!

 My sample package arrived yesterday and everything was so professionally presented.  The samples were all in a cute cellophane bag with a brand sticker sealing it shut.  The envelope was quite large for samples alone, but it ensured that they arrived to me safely and I can completely appreciate that.

Pigment Swatches (top to bottom):
Powdered Wig, Baroque, Revolutionary Ball, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Uranus

 The pigments are so very pretty.  They are bright and what you see is what you get. I love that.  The only color that did not perform 100% is Revolutionary Ball, the more you try to blend it, the more it rubs down and loses intensity.  It sounds logical, but it doesn't just blend out, it disappears some.  And for the record, I used Too Faced's Shadow Insurance and NYX's pearly white eyeshadow base and it only disappeared when I swatched it on my arm.  It performed perfectly when I used it on my eye.  I find the Sailor colors very appealing.  The collection is actually quite large and I simply love the colors.  There is also a really fabulous Star Wars-inspired collection too!

Now, onto those glitters!

Bling Pro is a lovely deep pink/magenta color.  I used LA Splash's eye primer/sealer to set these.  Simply apply the base and tap the glitter onto it.













Predator is stunning.  It's not just another metallic gold or bronze.  There is a subtle mix of both colors and it creates a rich finish.

ACR is my favorite glitter out of what I received.  It's a great mix of a medium-purple glitter, silver glitter and I believe a touch of gold glitter.  It's a beautiful, multidimensional color that provides a subtle, yet very glamorous pop of color.











Riot Shield is a straight purple glitter.  It's almost a royal purple.  A must for fans of deep, twinkling colors.

After swatching the products, I was more than ready to play!

Here is the first look I created with Victorian Disco Cosmetics:

Colors Used:  Powdered Wig, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mercury

My next look was a more dramatic, smoky look:

Products Used:  Powdered Wig, Sailor Saturn, Revolutionary Ball, Baroque and it's all topped off with ACR glitter.

All in all, I'm pleased with the samples I got from Victorian Disco Cosmetics.  And I mustn't forget that they label all of the samples with the ingredients and if the products are lip safe or not.  I look forward to trying out more!