Ulta Cosmetics Swatches

Remember this from my haul the other day? I swatched everything for you!!! Overall, I really like everything in here and it's all really wearable. The lipstick is a bit dark for my skintone and I'm not a dark brown fan (for lipcolor least). The blush is also too intense for me, but that's really it! Definitely a good buy! Technically this was all free with my other Ulta purchases!! :D

Let's begin with the eyeshadow!

This has some beautiful browns, and a silver that isn't too pow. I like to use the Granite to accentuate the outer edge of my eyeliner as well. These particular Ulta eyeshadows are totally fine, but not amazing. They aren't super pigmented and don't just glide on. I will definitely use them again though, just not awesome.

These are gorgeous colors as well! As you can see we're having the pigment problem again though. The Seashell pink is so pretty and really does show up a bit more in person. I like how Stardust is like a gold, but more on the soft yellow side. Aren't the names pretty?

Here are the eyeliner duo pencils that came with the free cosmetic bag. I really like these!! I usually prefer the softer twist up kind of eyeliner, but these glide right on. Halo is subtle, but I absolutely love it. The first time I wore it I used it to accentuate my lower lid on the outer edge since I only ever line my top lid in something darker. Halo is also good for adding shadow on top of. I found that if I lined my lower lid with it then added a shadow, it made that shadow shimmery and stand out more.

I am loving the Ulta Amped Lashes Volume Mascara! I was previously addicted to Rimmel Extra Super Lash. This is a lot like that one, but a bit better even! It isn't over the top and crazy voluminous like the mascara commercials on tv, but I don't want my eyelashes to look like that anyway. It covered them well, separated them well, all of the above! I am not all the way sure yet whether or not I'll stick with the Rimmel or this one only because of the price. I usually find the Rimmel for $7 (though online it says it sells for about $3 in Wal-Mart and RiteAid...never seen that!!). The Ulta is $10. So if I really can find it for that good a price then I'll probably keep buying the Rimmel. I have to say the packaging of the Ulta mascara kind of looks like a vibrator though....

On to the lippies!!! In the middle is the brown lipstick, just their regular lipcolor. It's really pretty, just not something I would wear. On each end I swatched the lipglosses, then in between is the lipgloss over the lipstick. The lipglosses looked crazy in the tube, but they come out really nice and normal! Both have a little bit of shimmer to them. Goddess has a little bit of an orange/bronze/goldy shimmery tint to it. Orange sounds awful for lips, but I promise you it is freaky subtle. It's really pretty! Flirtini is a sheer slightly pink gloss with really tiny subtle iridescent glitter in it. Here I'm wearing Flirtini over the Sally Hansen Lip Butter (slight pink tint) that I have for you in my giveaway.

Now for the blush! I really like the fun honeycomb texture of the pressed powder. I have swatched it for you lightly, then a little darker below. It almost has a hint of brown in the pink which you can see more in the darker swatch. Again, this one is so pretty, it's just too dark for my freaky pale skin tone along with blonde hair.

I haven't properly swatched the nail color for you, but here is a really color accurate bottle picture. I did paint it on a piece of paper and it looks very opaque. It's really pretty! Usually in things like this you think you'd get a really boring ugly color, but I like this one! It's called Hot Spot :D.

Now my final swatch is not from the bag of Ulta freebies I got, but I did pick it up in the same haul and have had a couple people ask me about it. This is the Ulta Eye Crayon in Cocoa Puff.

It is an eyeshadow stick. The consistency is like a really firm cream shadow. I absolutely love this! It is easy to apply, just the right size end, looks gorgeous, stays well, and has an awesome dual end with a sponge tip that you can use to blend with instead of using your finger. Awesome!!

Ulta Haul! - Ulta Cosmetics and Urban Decay

So I was doing my usual websurfing for awesome deals on makeup and the like. I came across like a million deals at Ulta. Remember, I posted about the Urban Decay deal? So instead of buying like $50 worth of stuff to get free shipping since I was pretty close anyway, I decided to actually stop by the store and see what was going on there. I knew I was dying for the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, so I picked that up first for $18. The deal for UD was buy $25, get two free lipglosses and an eyeshadow. Problem is, every single thing they had was super expensive. So I couldn't really get to $25 without going way over, and I am not that interested in throwing a ton down on a brand I have never tried (heard raves about the Primer Potion though). SO I decided to look around and see what else I could find.

Ulta had a deal going on where you buy $17.50 of Ulta cosmetics and get this bag full of free Ulta products. This bag has 14 items in it and is worth $88! The collection that they came up for the bag was called Sunkissed Glow. I checked it out and I would use like 90% of what's in there, if not all of it. Awesome deal, right? I have never tried Ulta cosmetics before so I was pretty excited. I picked up an Ulta Minerals Eye Shadow Duo in Fire Opal (champagne and medium purple, $12) and an Ulta Eye Crayon in Cocoa Puff (shimmery light brown, $8).

The eyeshadow was a good buy for me because I was looking for a darker neutral (I have a super light one I use a lot) and I don't have many purple eyeshadows. I also have hardly any nice brands of eyeshadow, so I really need to branch out. The Eye Crayon is pretty awesome. It's huge so it has a lot of product, and has an awesome eyeshadow sponge brush on the other end for blending. Fab!

Final haul:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - $18
Ulta Minerals Eye Shadow Duo in Fire Opal - $12
Ulta Eye Crayon in Cocoa Puff - $8
Yellow Makeup Pouch - Free with deal
Ulta Eyeshadow Quad in Silk, Seashell, Stardust, and Brown Sugar - Free in bag
Ulta Eyeshadow Quad in Truffle, Trendsetter, Platinum, and Granite - Free in bag
Small Yellow Foldy Mirror (regular and magnified) - Free in bag
Ulta Amped Lashes Volume Mascara - Free in bag
Ulta Countour/Eyeliner Pencil (dual ended) in Chocolate and Black - Free in bag
Ulta Contour Lip/Eyeliner Pencil (dual ended) in Spice and Halo - Free in bag
Ulta Lipgloss (dual ended) in Goddess and Flirtini - Free in bag
Mini Ulta Nail Lacquer in Hot Spot - Free in bag
Ulta Lipcolor in Rose Gold Shimmer - Free in bag
Ulta Cheek (pressed blush powder) in Fame - Free in bag
Ulta Contour Brush size small - Free in bag
Ulta Contour Brush size medium - Free in bag
Ulta Eyeshadow Brush - Free in bag
Ulta Sponge Tip (for eyeshadow) - Free in bag
18 items!
Total value: $126
Subtotal: $38
-$3.50 coupon
Total paid: $35.50

This deal is good till Saturday the 12th, while supplies last (so call ahead if you're going for this), and your colors may be different at your store. At my store you didn't get to pick your colors, but every bag was the exact same.

So far I am loving all these products! Though, the lipstick and blush might be too dark for me. I have another polish or two I don't want as well, so maybe I need to jump on the band wagon and do a cheapy blog sale? Swatches to come! I started but my camera battery died lol...

Mardi Gras Madness!

Okay so my nails aren't mad, but they're pretty fun :D

I borrowed the cute little sun symbol idea to let people know it's a sunlight pic from Patricia at Southern Sister Polish. Isn't it cute? :D I wanted to do something quick and simple. I'm doing a practicum with my school right now at an elderly residential facility, and we're having a Mardi Gras party today! I'll let you know how that goes!

Here is an indoor pic of my mani. I used Color Club Milky White Basecoat to try it out with Zoya and they seem to like each other so far! My base color is Zoya Valerie. The gold dots are an ArtNails striping polish in gold. And the green is Orly It's Not Rocket Science. It shows up a little better irl, but the gold is definitely more bold.

Zoya Valerie is a gorgeous shimmery rich purple. It was a one coater! She's on the red side of purple when I think of the color wheel (purple is in between red and blue). Her sister Julieanne is more bluish, for example. Here is a good comparison post of the purples (scroll about half way down). She has a lot of red, purple, and gold shimmer, but I think the gold shows up more in the bottle than on the nail. Valerie is a dark purple, but doesn't even look black in a darkened room. Love it!

Color Club Sheer Disguise

So I heard mentioned somewhere in the Blogger world that Color Club nail polish was sold at Ross. Really, at Ross? I needed some home decor items anyway, so I went. Lo and behold right up front was a stand of nothing but nail polish. In the stash were boxed sets of Color Club collections including both the halves of Alter Ego, Poptastic, and Covered In Diamonds. Not a fabulous selection, but not bad. I have never seen Color Club before, let alone tried it, so I had to pick some up. It was $7.99 for a whole set! Awesome!

I chose the lighter version which includes from left to right: Get a Clue, Revealed, Incognito, Secret Rendevous, Sheer Disguise, Give Me a Hint, and Milky White Basecoat. I can't wait to try them all out! I chose Sheer Disguise first because I just picked up an awesome flaky and wanted to try layering it over something similar since it's pretty sheer. So! Meet Sheer Disguise.

For my first experience with Color Club, I love it! The price is fab too! Sheer Disguise is a light dusty grey blue with a creme finish. It was opaque in two coats, but maybe could have used three. I knew I was layering it later so I didn't mind. Everything about this polish was just fabulous. The drying time was even quick! I used their base coat and liked that too. I have been looking for a 3 free basecoat with a bit of pigment to it and this seems to fill that need perfectly! I have been previously using Seche Vite Ridge Filling Basecoat and like it a lot, but it doesn't play well with Zoya polishes, so we'll have to see how Color Club's basecoat does in that department. I'm also using Orly Sec'n Dry Quick Dry Topcoat with it instead of my previous choice of Seche Vite (because of the awful shrinkage) and that seems to be a great pairing as well!

I am just thrilled with this brand! The polish is great, the wear has been pretty awesome (3 days and started to see some lifting after a hot shower, totally fixable with a top coat), the colors are really cool, and it's super cheap!

I found mine at Ross (the cheap clothing/home store), but it is also sold at some Bed Bath & Beyond stores. Try their website to see if a particular Bed Bath & Beyond sells it. The Ross didn't show up, so BB&B seems to be the only one in their website list. One of my BB&B's that I have already been to that did not carry the polish did not show up on this list, so it must actually show the ones that carry it. Great!

My First Giveaway!!!

~~~ Closed! Winner is Manicured Monkey! ~~~

Yay!! I'm so excited!! Aren't you?!?!
Welcome to my very first giveaway!!!

Here is what one lucky winner will receive:

There are loads of items up for grabs! Here is the breakdown:

Nail Items

From left to right:
Maybelline Express Finish 50 Second Nail Color in Firefly (pearly shimmer)
Orly Nail Laquer in Close Your Eyes (very chromey and shiny)
Sinful Colors in Green Ocean (green/blue flaky)
Revlon Nail Enamel in Iced Spice (pinky copper shimmer)
Zoya Professional Laquer in Stacy (dark berry creme)
Sally Hansen Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Color Pen in Red Chrome (quite purple, Amber from Rainbows & Sparkles recommends it for stamping)
10 cheap emory board (love to put these all over the house, purse, car, etc)
Plastic and firm rubber cuticle tool (never use a sucky orange stick again!)

Bath Stuff

Rose scented soap flower petals made locally (so romantic!)
Bod Mod Bath Fizzy in Sparkling Pomegranate (shimmery and diamond shaped)
Sally Hansen Comfort Grip Pumice Stone (cute pink grippy, I've been using one too)

Makeup

Sally Hansen Daily Lip Moisturizer with Aloe & Vitamin E (treatment or just a gloss)
Covergirl Outlast All Day Lip Color - Top coat balm
Covergirl Outlast All Day Lip Color #583
Covergirl Outlast All Day Lip Color #648
Sally Hansen Healing Butter Shimmer for Lips (smells and tastes great too!)
Your choice of one CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine - Cinnamint Frosty, Spearmint Frosty, or Mentha Frosty
No7 Stay Perfect Eye Mousse (sample size) in Pewter (English brand, not pictured)
Max Factor Eyeliner Crayon in Fresh Coffee (great brand, in first picture)

Random Awesomeness

One pair of beaded earrings, handmade by me :D. (Check out my Etsy Facebook page for more pictures of my creations)
English chocolate! Mint Aero Bar! (My nails match!)
8 animal bracelets, cause I'm fun like that! (flamingo, dolphin, seahorse, seal, giraffe, kangaroo, hippo, and rhino)

That's 22 items (counting the bracelets as one)!! I hope you like my giveaway ladies! Now spread the word and enter!!

Rules and information:

1. You must be a follower of my blog with Google Friend Connect.
   
2. This giveaway is open internationally. I just hope that it isn't too much to send lol.
   
3. All items are new and supplied/purchased by me.
   
4. You can only enter by clicking the link and using the form below. Commenting will not enter you, but I do love comments so feel free to comment anyway! I would love to hear what your favorite items are!
5. If you hate a particular item or already have one just like it, just let me know and I'll leave it out or choose a second winner. I know some of the items aren't ideal, like the CG lip colors for example. I'm so fair skinned I thought they would look awful on me, but if you're bold enough to wear them, awesome! Either way you get to try it out and see if you like that brand!
6. This giveaway will close on March 19th and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter through email. The winner will have 48 hours to reply through email before a new winner will be chosen.
7. The winner will be chosen at random. I'm not sure how this form thing works yet, but I think I'll use a random number generator. It will be fair I promise!
8. I forgot to add "add me to your blogroll" as another entry. It would be unfair to do it now since so many people have already entered. But if you like my blog, please add me to your blog roll!
   

~*~*~ Click here to fill out the form and enter the Giveaway ~*~*~

Nail Art Contests

Just letting you know about a couple nail art contests I have run across lately so that you can enter and try your luck.

OPI - Katy Perry
Choose one of the displayed 5 nail designs that Katy Perry has sported in the past, and do your take on it. The grand prize is the entire Katy Perry collection (including the shatter), her Teenage Dream cd, and a guitar signed by her. Runner up winners will get that, minus the guitar. This contest ends March 15th.Konad - St Patty's Day / March Madness
For this one you have to do both a mani and pedi, and all nails of at least one hand and one foot must show in the picture. They have to be themed for St. Patrick's Day or March Madness, which (from googling it) I think it basketball stuff. You must use some Konad product in your design, like the stamping plates or special polish. They must be official Konad brand.

Color Club - St. Patty's Day
You can enter this one until March 14th. Enter a picture of your St. Patrick's Day themed nail art using creative appliques, decals, or free-hand nail art. You don't actually have to use Color Club in your entry for this one, but it would obviously be nice. You can enter up to 3 different designs!

Manis with Mum

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. My mum came to visit from my hometown in Tennessee. It's an 8-9 hour drive, no fun!
When she arrived I still had friends over doing nails. I did a short nail french on Shannon and I didn't get a picture. Jessie chose Zoya Gemma :D, and I did a little gemmed flower on one nail. Don't ask me why Gemma looks matte in this pic...she's not. It was with my phone so you know. Isn't that cute though? I had some blue round rhinestones and some cool green rectangular ones. We were looking at them thinking how great they would look with Gemma and decided we could do a flower. I ♥ it!!

This whole weekend I was sporting a fun green Orly glitter than I got on discount at Sally's. I didn't realize at the time that the reason it was discounted was because it was a Christmas polish :P.

Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe is a pretty green glitter. It has a hint of teal, which is what interested me in the first place. Unfortunately that doesn't really show on the nail and it turns out a nearly perfect Christmas green. The application and level of glitter were great. It's packed with glitter, but it must be small enough that it doesn't make the surface rough. I started using Orly SecNDry, a quick dry top coat, and it's been doing pretty well. I'm looking for an alternative to Seche Vite since I get such bad shrinkage with that one. So far I'm liking the Orly better, but the wear isn't great. This picture is maybe after 3 days...I know...I was busy with my mum visiting lol. I'm pretty sure that's tip wear and not shrinkage. This also might just be the Orly base color. I haven't used Orly much so maybe it doesn't have good staying power?

So when it came to my mother's nails, out of the more than 100 colors I have from many different brands, she chose Zoya Tiffany and Deidra.

Here is Tiffany on her toes with a Konad stamp using a Milani white. It stamps so easily because it's so thin, but it isn't brilliantly opaque white like it should be. I also didn't wait very long before I top coated it so the design smeared a wee bit. She was the most difficult client ever lol. She would NOT let me do her cuticles and would hardly let me file. She kept moving too...I'm like mom I'm getting it all over your skin. I tried cleaning it up by wiping while it was still freshly wet with my cuticle tool and she would not have it! "Mom do you want polish all over your skin?!?" "Yes, I do, I like it." Lol she just wanted me to leave it alone. So excuse the imperfections!

She was a bit less fussy about her fingernails, but still no cuticle fixing was allowed! Zoya Deidra looks great on her and I knew she'd love it. This is with no clean up, so this means I'm getting better! Yay, I can color in the lines!! This was two coats, and a couple nails could have used three. I was coaching her for the pictures. "Like this mum like this!" Isn't it cute? :D