OPI: When Monkeys Fly

While browsing online, I saw a photo of OPI's Oz The Great and Powerful collection and I wasn't that impressed...at all. Then a few days later, I find myself gawking over a swatch of When Monkeys Fly at a local beauty store. Seriously, holographic glitter with large flecks of gold...yes, please. I had no idea from my initial online pursuing that those large gold flecks were part of the polish. It just looked like another gold glitter polish online. So of course, I had to have it and I put it on immediately when I got home.

 Now as much as I love how awesome this polish can look...it was a BIOTCH to work with. To achieve the look I wanted, I had to blob that shit on..literally. The formula is a bit thick and the application of gold flecks was sporadic with each coat. Like I said, I just blobbed it all over my nails to get the gold flecks to pack onto my nails. The gold flecks are basically confetti pieces placed throughout the polish so it might have been easier to just apply confetti pieces to my nails for the look I wanted. It dried pretty quickly which was a plus side for how much I was putting on, but if you hate glitter polishes in general...steer clear of this one.  I personally don't like this as a top coat but rather worn alone which I show in the second photo.

The photos below are a bit blurry but hopefully you get the idea.

*For the final look, again I "blobbed" or rather patted the brush on my nails instead of using a swiping motion so I could get the nails packed full of the gold flecks.

Finger-Licious Nail Entry

Hey there beautiful people!

I decided to enter a little nail contest on Facebook that Wet n Wild is hosting. The most likes wins so if you like the nail looks I created using all Wet n Wild polishes from the Fergie line, please go here: Fergified Nail Look Entry and 'like' the photo! It would make me one happy girl! Thanks!

Oz: The Great and Powerful Inspired Look

In honor of the movie Oz: The Great and Powerful coming out tomorrow, I thought I'd bust out my Urban Decay Theodora palette and do an eye look. I'm so excited to see the movie, I hope it doesn't disappoint!

Colors Used:

Brow Highlight: Broken

Above the crease: Beware

In the crease: West

Lid and lower lash line: Jealous (darker green side)

Outer Corner: Spell (Black shadow)

Lips: UD Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Theodora 

*You can find my initial review of the palette here: Urban Decay Theodora Palette

Other products used:

Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 330 Natural Tan

Powder: Sephora Microsmooth face powder in 30-Medium

Blush: Benefit Dallas

Eyeliner: MAC fluidline in Blacktrack.
Water Line: Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black

Brows: Benefit Brow Zings 

False Lashes: Ardell Wispies

Mascara: L'OREAL Telescopic Shocking Extensions


*Bonus: Oz inspired nails!

How fitting that pantone named Emerald as the color for 2013 and Oz comes out in 2013...(hello, Emerald City...get it?!) Anyway, I love this green glitter polish I found at Walmart for under $2. The color is I'll Behave by Pure Ice (which is like an exact dupe of OPI's Fresh Frog of Bel Air). I decided to pair it with black polish just to give it some contrast but the polish also looks great on its own.

Essie: Nothing Else Metals

Hi. My name is Kristina and I am obsessed with nail polish. My addiction love for nail polish is so bad that I decided to give it up for lent...buying new ones that is. So how am I doing with that? Ummm....I struggled for lasted 2 weeks! So 14 days out of 40...that's almost 50% of the way! (Pathetic I know...baby steps.)

Anyways, I had a coupon for $2 off an Essie polish at Rite Aid so of course I had to use it. I'm not the biggest fan of Essie because I find the formula to be streaky but I'm all about giving things another chance. I have always loved the colors that Essie comes out with and Nothing Else Metals caught my eye. It's a shiny, metal finish polish that has a silver lavender hue to it.

The thing with metal polishes is they all tend to be streaky and show any imperfection you may have on your nail...this unfortunately was no different. I love the color of this polish and how it looks from far away, but up close, ugh. Every time I look at my nails with this polish on, I am reminded that I should take better care of them...maybe drink more milk, buy a nail buffer...ugh. Yea, so this polish is going back (Love Rite Aid's return policy) and the metal polish hunt continues.
*Best metal like polish I have found so far is from Fergie's line for Wet n Wild which I swatched here: Going Platinum.

2 coats of polish were applied in these photos. The formula dried quickly and lasted a solid 4 days with no chipping.

Here are some close up shots where u can see the streaking, bubbling, and all my nail imperfections highlighted:

Review: CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation

After hearing all the rave reviews about this foundation, I had to see what the hype was all about. I purchased mine at Rite Aid for $12.79 but I know the price ranges from about $10-$13 depending on where you purchase it. I purchased 842-Medium Beige and for reference I am an NC 35 at MAC. I have combo to oily skin and a lot of acne scarring/discoloration, so a medium to full coverage foundation is what I look for. I currently use Revlon ColorStay and am very happy with the performance of that foundation and haven't felt the need to try any other drugstore foundations. So what made me bite the bullet and give this a try? I heard a few people say this foundation has replaced their Revlon Colorstay! Say what?! 10 mins later I'm in my car on a mission to get this in my possession.

So what did I think?

NYX Round Lipstick

I noticed I had acquired quite the collection of NYX round lipsticks, so I thought I'd share some swatches and a quick review for those out there looking to try these or add to their collection. I only own 21 shades out of the line and I say only because there's 124 to choose from! If there was an award for creating the most variations of a color...NYX would win, hands down.

These lipsticks are super affordable at $4 each on the NYX Cosmetics site, and you can find them even cheaper on sites like cherryculture.com and Ulta. They claim to be a velvet texture lipstick that resists smudging...the velvet texture maybe but resists smudging? NO. I find these lipsticks to be a very creamy formula which is nice because they are moisturizing to the lips. However, the creamy formula also contributes to the product sliding a bit so I'm not sure what they mean by resists smudging. Last time I accidentally swiped my hand over my lips, I was rocking lipstick on my face...not cool. Although I don't agree with the smudge proof claim, these are great lipsticks (Just don't swipe your hand over your lips and face). They are creamy, not heavy or thick on the lips, color range is great, super pigmented, no noticeable scent, and very affordable. I also love the packaging because the actual color of the lipstick is visible at the bottom of the tube. This is great not only when you are buying these in person but also when I'm storing them upside down. I can easily see what is what which is so convenient. The wear time for me is about 3 hours before I need to re-apply.
I definitely recommend these for any lip junkie that is looking for some extra colors to add to their collection!

*Cherry Culture is currently having their 20% off sale again so these lipsticks come to $2.40!!! Sale ends March 10th, code: MMM2013

Now on to what's most important, THE SWATCHES!

Wet n Wild: Mega Last Lipstick

For me, Wet n Wild had always been the brand that was crappy in quality but so cheap I couldn't be that disappointed..that is until a few years back. Talk about stepping up your game Wet n Wild! To this day, I still think Wet n Wild has some of the best quality eyeshadows and blushes at the drugstore and at a ridiculously affordable price!

I recently became reunited with my Wet n Wild stash of lip products and forgot how much I enjoy using them! I'd have to say that any cons to the product are pretty much justified by the price...$1.99. Yes, $1.99....AND most of the time Wet n Wild is BOGO 50% off or BOGO free. You could pretty much find change on the ground and get yourself some of these lippies...crazy.

So what's the good vs the bad?