Perfume Haul

First up is Vanilla Passion Nourishing Body Cream from Calgon's Take Me Away! collection.  This is THE BEST drugstore vanilla scent.  Well it's better than any other brand's gourmand type scent, expensive or not.  I was so surprised by the quality of this product.  The scent is not a cheap smell.  It's caramel-vanilla like Pink Sugar which I just reviewed.  It also moisturizes really well and goes on smooth and creamy.  I can't wait to get the spray which also smells just good.  I tested Vanilla Passion out and purchased the cream at Walmart where it's only 5 bucks for huge amount of product.

Next up is Philosophy's Falling In Love EDP and I honestly don't like it.  It smells pretty with the tester in store, but it seemed much more tart when brand new.  Who knows, maybe my nose was clouded with other scents.  And I know that certain perfumes need a bit of time to mature and this is probably one of them.  Don't get me wrong, it is a nice scent, just not for me.  So if anyone already loves this perfume, contact me (jjgirl1989@gmail.com) and we can trade or I'll give it to you for less than it's $50 worth since I already sprayed it.

Lastly for this post is Playboy's Play It Lovely EDT.  This comes in a cheap, but very cute round bottle with a black bunny head for the cap.  And it smells wonderfully fresh and kinda spicy, I don't know how to describe it exactly.  They also have Play It Spicy and Play It Sexy.  They are all kinda spicy, but this one has the least amount so when I say spicy, it's more of a light spice accent.  Although it smells so lovely, it doesn't last at all.  The only way I get it to last is if I spray it 6-7 times and kinda get it toward my hair.  Then it lasts for a few hours.  That just doesn't seem worth it.  I wouldn't buy this again unless it was on clearance.

Pink Sugar Gift Set Review

Sorry I've been a horrible blogger, I doubt anyone pays attention to my blog haha :( But I work and have summer class and am on a low spending budget because the iPhone costs so damn much.  Anyway, I do have lots of little things to review because I went on a little spree.

So here goes.  This might sound raunchy, but ever since I went to the strip club in L.A. back in April, I couldn't get that stripper scent out of my head (my boyfriend says I think like a guy), but really I just wanted to smell like that because it's so sweet and pretty.  So I end up looking online for what a lot of strippers wear as perfume and Pink Sugar by Aquolina came up a lot so I went and smelled it at Ulta and ever since then I have been crazed and I think about the perfume every day like a weirdo.  I bought the perfume originally from walgreens.com, but it didn't have the brand name on it.  Now I'm sure it was authentic because I trust Walgreens, but I think it's stupid that Aquolina wouldn't put their brand on the bottle or the packaging.  That bothered me and so I returned it.  And for some reason, it didn't smell as good as the one in Ulta.  Well I bought the gift set because it came with the 3.38oz hair perfume that I have been dying to purchase, a 1.7oz EDT, and a little lotion (I think it should have been bigger for the cost!!!).  But either way I "saved" some money by not buying these items separately.

1.7oz EDT: Yum. Yum. Yum.  I'm floating on clouds every time I wear this.  If you don't know what Pink Sugar smells like, it's a caramel cotton candy vanilla scent, but not like those Body Fanstasies sprays which are OK, but very synthetic smelling.  I'm not huge on perfume terminology, but all I can say is that this EDT last longer than most my EDPs.

3.38oz Hair Perfume:  This adds a light hint of Pink Sugar to the hair and it lingers.  You can definitely smell it.  I can't get enough of this scent.

1.75oz Lotion:  Smells great, but the texture is very slick and not creamy at all.  Actually it says cream on the tube.  Oh well, I bought the set for the other two items anyway.

Eitherway, I think this is a decent deal if you are in looooove with Pink Sugar like me :)

Extra tid bit:

Love's Sugar Kiss by Dana smells similar to Pink Sugar and is a cheaper alternative.  I read that it is a decent dupe, but I don't think it quite matches up in lasting power or sweetness.  Sugar Kiss is softer like it has more musk in it.  It's a cologne mist so that explains the lasting power.  I love it although I have to spray a lot of it.  Try to catch it on sale.

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Ink Splatter Review

Love this stuff and I think it works great and thanks to my friend, Alex, for letting me try hers before I bought it :).  I admit I had my doubts about it, but it works.  I have not tried Black Shatter from the Katy Perry collection so I do not have that to compare it to.  I wanted to get that one originally but gave up a couple months ago because I couldn't find it anywhere, and now it's restocked but I'm too cheap to pay the ten bucks.  So I just forgot about it and Ink Splatter is almost the same price, but I got it on sale at CVS, plus used an in-store coupon and I ended up getting 2 bottles for $7.  I will have to review the blue one later.

So putting it on is a little difficult but it can be done.  You have to put it on thinly, but not too thin otherwise it'll dry up too fast and be transparent.  If you put it on too thick, it loses the crackle effect.  When it dries it looks like a soft black so a top coat is a MUST.  I always use a top coat no matter what when I paint my nails so it's not a task at all for me.

Try to catch it on sale right now!  You won't regret it.



I put Ink Splatter over my already chipping nails so I apologize for the tips of my nails looking like poop.



UPDATE:  I received a bottle of Black Shatter by O.P.I. and now I can compare the two.  I actually prefer the Sally Hansen version because you can get thicker blocks of black with good separation.  Black Shatter has a cleaner/smoother formula (less clumpy), but it doesn't crackle enough for me.  The cracks are very thin so it's hard to see the nail color that is underneath.  Even applying thick, I still got thin cracks everywhere.  I still like it though. 

Lorac Private Affair Palette Review

This is a very pretty palette containing shimmer neutral shades and two plum-like shades.  They are all pigmented, but of course the darker shades need some layering.  This palette comes with a double ended brush and an eye primer.  I love the packaging, it's so cute and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the little drawer that I discovered after I bought the palette.  I'm a sucker for secret compartments.

Here are the swatches without primer:

The brush is so crappy.  I think they could have gone one little extra step to make the brush denser and softer. 

The primer that came with it is great though.  I first used these shadows with TFSI and they showed up well, but then I used the shadows over the Lorac primer and OMG there was definitely a POW in the amount of pigmentation.  The eyeshadow definitely worked better with its own brand.  The following pictures however are used with TFSI.

The job I did looks weird from far away, but click on the pic and you can see closer up.

I used the first four shadows in this look for my friend's sister:

Before

After

Pros:

-Great day or night shadows
-Great pigmentation
-Cute packaging
-Brush and primer addition (primer = !)
-Medium sized shadows

Cons:
-Kinda pricey at $38 without tax
-Brush

Verdict: The pros definitely outweigh the cons and this is an adorable palette with beautiful shadows, but if you already have similar colors, maybe pass but because of the price only.  I'm just drawn to these colors and am always looking for the best taupey shimmery brown/gray shade and I've found some in this palette :)

Tarte neutralEYES Natural Eye Palette Review

First of all, I love Tarte's eyeshadow. I love that they contain natural ingredients and the pigmentation remains great. I want all of the palettes eventually. I have the Day to Night palette which is simply amazing and this particular palette is wonderful too. It manages to have a natural appearance on the face even though the colors are unique and bold as a palette.  I do wish some were a bit easier to blend and softer, but I get some of the prettiest damn looks out of the Tarte palettes, and I've created one with neutralEYES that I'm going to wear a lot!  Keeping reading for the step by step to my favorite look below.

I tried uploading these from my iPhone (just got one so I've been playing around), but ugh it was so hard so I'm probably not going to do it again.

Some looks:

Here I used the neutral and bone colored shadows and the eyeliner that comes with it.  I used MAC's Painterly paint pot as a base.

Same look, different lighting.

Deep plum shade, navy shade, and nude pink shade.  Sloppy job, but just trying to show the colors.  Blue eyeliner is Covergirl Liquiline Blast eyeliner in Blue Boom.

MY  FAVORITE LOOK SO FAR STEP BY STEP:

Started off with beige shade on lid, then blended to bone shade on brow.

Then I buffed the dark brown shade into the corners of my eyelid and along the top lash line.  Next simply used the brown liner from the palette on upper lash line.



I then took the navy and blended it into the outer corner and swept it across the eyeliner.  Also blended navy into lower lash line.



Finish with mascara and a stupid face :)



Currently I'm in love with L'Oreal Waterproof Voluminous Carbon Black.  I have never ever seen my eyelashes this huge!  Look how long and thick they are.  I accidentally got waterproof which I don't normally buy, but this stuff doesn't make my lashes feel hard and it is pretty easy to take off. 

Pros:

-A lot of colors to choose from (versatility)

-Clean pigmentation

-Best eyeliner ever included (Tarte Emphaseyes aqua gel-eyeliner in Brown)

-Quality brush

-Packaging

-I think I their eye primer came with it too

-All of the colors work together making it easy to creat looks

Cons:

-Consistency of shadows could be altered to make blending a little easier with the deeper shades.

Verdict:

I probably would buy this again just because of the whole product itself.  I love the shadows and the eyeliner and the brush.  I do however prefer the Day to Night palette.

Urban Decay The Fun Palette (Review)

So I think what really draws me to these palettes is the packaging.  Well that's all part of their product marketing so DUH!  But this palette is just that, FUN.  It's fun because of the artwork and shadows as well.  I'm going to review each shadow individually.

Strawberries are my favorite fruit and skulls my favorite symbol I guess you'd say so this was perfect :)

Woodstock: This is a vibrant dark pink or maybe magenta.  I think it is more on the sheer side, but buildable.  When put on my eyelid with primer, it shows up pretty well.  I think this shadow needs a thicker or white base.  It really makes my green eyes stand out.
Baked: GORGEOUS!  It's a very rich and shimmery golden bronze.  The shimmer in it glistens and looks like it's shooting off sparks.  I love it.
Uzi:  Ew.  Sorry but I don't like chunky silver glitter in anything.  It has a nice shimmery white to it, but the glitter chunks ruin it.  I put a little on my lids and it was just basically glitter.  However I have not tried it on my entire lid which would probably look great for going out somewhere funky which I do from time to time so I can't wait to try it.
Sin: This is your basic pretty champagne color, maybe a little darker.  I love it, I think it's beautiful and multipurposeful.
Flipside: Very aquamarine, I felt like a mermaid wearing it, but a pretty one!  It is sheer like Woodstock with a nice sheen to it.
Psychedilic Sister: I basically bought the palette because I wanted to try this color and why not get 5 more if I get the whole thing.  This reminds me a lot of UD Flash, but a little bit deeper.  Pretty sheen, similar consistency of Flipside and Woodstock.
Oil Slick 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil:  Honestly, I don't like it.  I would have preferred if they put Zero or maybe a crazy purple colored liner, but not this.  It doesn't show up well at all.  Again, it's made with glitter chunks.

Swatches without primer:

With flash, inside.

Without flash, outside.

Without flash, outside, different angle.

Oil Slick Glide-On

Here are some looks :)

Flipside and Sin over UDPP.

You can see the sheerness in this picture.

Psychedelic Sister over smeared wnw black creme liner and Sin.

Sorry about the blur, but you can see where Psychedelic Sister sheers out when it's not on the black liner.

Supposed to look scary ;)

 Pros:
-Versatile
-Good amount for the money
-Packaging
-Paired with eyeliner and primer

Cons:
-Consistency of Uvi and Oil Slick liner
-Wish the shadows would be richer/heavier pigmentation.  

Overall:  I think this palette is great.  I can't wait to try out more looks with it.  I said in another review that I'd review the Dangerous Palette, but I returned it because I already had more than one of the colors.

Anyway, up next for review is the Tarte Palette and the Lorac Private Affair palette.  Also some bronzers. EEK!  And here's a picture of my dog lookin like a hill billy:

I LOVE HER!!