Silk Naturals Climax Blush

I discovered Silk Naturals way back when, but only recently placed an order when I found out they had a dupe for NARS Orgasm blush. Here are all of the lovely little details. :}

:::  THE SPECS  :::

Since I only purchased one full-size blush, I won't go over everything else that's offered on the Silk Naturals website. They have a lot to look at, so be sure to check it out! The Climax blush that I purchased was the full-size, 10-gram jar for $6.50, with approximately 1.5-teaspoons of product. You can also get a sample size for $1.25, which is 1/8-teaspoon in a 5-gram jar. Shipping for this blush was $4.00, and the posted TAT was two days, which was accurate for my order. I received my order in about 5 business days from the day I ordered.

:::  THE PICTURES  :::

{The jar}

{Labeling}

{Photographed in natural light}

{Photographed with a flash}

{Photographed with a flash}

{Photographed in natural light}

:::  THE OPINIONS  :::

Because I don't have NARS' Orgasm to begin with, I can't really compare it to Climax. However, this color is absolutely lovely with my fair skin tone. In the swatch pictures I only swiped a light layer, but the opacity can be built up for a really nice glow. I know many people are on the lookout for a good dupe, so I'd say give Silk Naturals' Climax a try!

Stay Fabulous!

My Pretty Zombie Part Deux

Obviously from the title you've probably figured out that this is my second post about My Pretty Zombie. Since I already did a "review" of MPZ HERE, I won't go through all of the specifics aside from mentioning the pricing again, for those who are interested. I got some great colors the second time around, equal in fabulousness to my first order. :}

:::  THE SPECS  :::

For this particular order I purchased three full-size eyeshadows for $15 and received two free baggie samples. The full sizes contain approximately 1.5 grams of product in a 5-gram container {and I really like the square-bottomed containers}, with the jars heat-sealed, no sifter. The jars are labeled with the company name on top and the color/ingredients on the bottom. TAT and shipping was the same for this order as with the last one, at about seven business days from the time I ordered. Shipping is $1.25{US} for the first item and $0.25{US} for additional items; $2.25 to Canada and $4.60 everywhere else.

:::  THE PICTURES  :::

*Swatched over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese. Click images to enlarge.*

{The items}

{The items}

{Heat-sealed jars}

{Unicorn Pee, Natural Light}

{Unicorn Pee, Flash}

{Law Firm Lamb Cake, Natural Light}

{Law Firm Lamb Cake, Flash}

{Monstrous Industry, Natural Light}

{Monstrous Industry, Flash}

{Swatches in Natural Light}

{Natural Light}

{Natural Light}

{Natural Light}

{Natural Light}

{Natural Light}

{Swatches with a flash}

{Different angle with a flash}

:::  THE OPINIONS  :::

Aren't they all amazing? I actually received Rabies as a sample with my first order, but Grandma Cleavage was a new one, and it's fantastic! I wouldn't have picked the color just from looking at the pigment in the baggie, so this just proves how important swatches are. The color shift is pretty awesome. Monstrous Industry, Law Firm Lamb Cake and Unicorn Pee are all great colors as well. I would recommend using Unicorn Pee over a glitter glue type of base, like Darling Girl's glitter glue or Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, as Unicorn Pee has a lot of glitter that you'll want to make sure adheres to your lids. I would even use glitter glue with Law Firm Lamb Cake, which doesn't have as much glitter as Unicorn Pee, but enough that it can make a difference depending on the base you use. Of course I love all of the colors and would recommend all of them once again.

Stay Fabulous!

Long Time Gone

First of all, my apologies for disappearing a few weeks ago. How time flies when you're busy! What felt like only a few days away from my blog, was actually about a month, and now I feel like quite a slacker. Not that I should have to apologize for having a busy life — it happens — but I hate neglecting something I enjoy. It certainly hasn't been a matter of choice though.

I'm still {slowly} putting together a special little giveaway for my blog, and collecting new things every time I place an order with my favorite companies. The newest addition to my giveaway stash is a set of two Black Magic sample bars from One Hand Washes the Other! I'm pretty excited about that. At some point I'll get a blog post/review up for OHWTO as well, but there are quite a few reviews/swatch posts in line, waiting for me to complete them.

As far as my busy life goes, it's been primarily work and school-related, with little time to do the things I enjoy. I'm still on a hiatus with my theater ensemble until I finish up grad school, but I'm still plenty busy even without theater. On a positive note, I got a new car a few weeks ago {see pics below}! It's a 2012 Chevy Cruze, and it's my first truly "new" car ever. While I'm still grateful that I was able to own any cars I've had in the past, it feels like a breath of fresh air to be able to drive something that I'm not constantly worrying about. The last straw was my most recent car and oil/coolant leaks that would have cost about $700 to fix. For a 1999 car, that's so not worth it. So I made a quick decision and decided to trade it in while I could still get a bit of money for it, and just start over brand new. Although to clarify, the decision to get a new car was quick, but choosing the perfect car to buy was not. Anyway, now I can make the 360-mile round-trip drive to visit my family and friends without worrying about my car breaking down and leaving me stranded in every sense of the word. I was able to be proactive this time, and I'm glad for that. Anyway, I love my Cruze, and am really pleased with the customer service and guidance I received at the dealership where I purchased the car. Being a single young{er} woman, there's always that chance that the salesmen will try to take advantage of the situation. But I did my homework, and this place was pretty amazing. The sales rep was not only friendly, but also wasn't pushy, and made sure I understood everything I was looking at, made sure I was comfortable with every decision I made, and just made the overall experience a positive one.

Without further ado, here is my "baby." I wish I could think of a name for it... any suggestions? I've heard "Black Betty," "Black Beauty," "Tom Cruze" and a few others. I don't think I want the color "black" to be in its name though. And, it has to be a boyish name, not a girly name. My cars are always boys. Hehe.

So there it is! I should also mention that the black granite metallic paint actually has *sparkles* in it! It looks fabulous in the sunlight.

Other than the new car, and being a busy bee, there isn't much else to report. I've had a great variety of indie orders arrive lately, all of which I plan to blog about in the {hopefully} near future. OHWTO, Victorian Disco, Evil Shades, Simply Sweet Skin, Pollen Cosmetics, Chinovi Cosmetics are all on the list, along with a bunch that I've had queued up for a while and just need to add some details to and click "publish." Thankfully I have a "mental health" vacation coming up on Wednesday, for a lovely five days, so I'm making it a point to get more blog work done in that time. Don't hold me to it, but I sure will try. :}

Stay Fabulous!

Love Hues: Review | Swatches

Love Hues has some *lovely* eyeshadows. I stumbled upon Love Hues while browsing Etsy, not looking for anything in particular. The product images really caught my attention, as they use swatches of the colors as their main thumbnail pictures, so you can tell immediately when looking at the search results whether you're interested or not. A handful of colors really stood out, and after doing a basic Google search and not finding any bad news bears reviews, I decided to give 'em a try.

:::  THE SPECS  :::

I purchased a sample set of 10 eyeshadows for $8.50, and received an extra two samples as freebies. The shop is easy to go through, separated into categories by color and collections.
Details are as follows:

:::  $5.99 for a 5-gram jar of eyeshadow with 1 gram of product, packed by weight.
:::  Sample baggies are available in sets of 5, 10 or 15, and each sample has 1/8 of a teaspoon of product.
:::  Shipping for U.S. orders is $1.75 for the first item and $0.10 for each additional item.
:::  Shipping for International orders is $3.00 for the first item and $0.10 for each additional item.
:::  The shop policies page states that all orders are mailed out within two (2) business days of purchase.

My order was shipped within 24 hours of the purchase, and I received it in a mere two days via USPS. This was one of the quickest TATs that I've experienced thus far.

:::  THE PICTURES  :::

*Swatched over NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese. Click images to enlarge.*
*Additional Note: My camera picked up an abnormally warm tone in the Natural Light pictures, but I didn't want to adjust the colors/balance at all in case it distorted the swatches.* 

{Packaged in a taffeta bag}

{The samples + two extra samples}

{All of the goodies}

{Natural Light - L to R: Dove Grey, Sunrise Pink, Heartfelt Whimsy, Opaline Moonstone, Underwater Chameleon}

{Natural Light - Dove Grey}

{Natural Light - Sunrise Pink}

{Natural Light - Heartfelt Whimsy}

{Natural Light - Opaline Moonstone}

{Natural Light - Underwater Chameleon}

{Photographed with a Flash}

{Flash - Different angle}

{Flash - Close-up of Dove Grey, Sunrise Pink and Heartfelt Whimsy}

{Flash - Close-up of Heartfelt Whimsy, Opaline Moonstone and Underwater Chameleon}

{Natural Light - L to R: Arctic Lilac, Castle Secrets, Magic Happens, Sandcastle, Spring Fling}

{Natural Light - Arctic Lilac}

{Natural Light - Castle Secrets}

{Natural Light - Magic Happens}

{Natural Light - Sandcastle}

{Natural Light - Spring Fling}

{Natural Light - Mystery and The Girl Glows}

{Photographed with a Flash}

{Photographed with a Flash}

{Flash - Different Angle}

{Flash - Close-up of Arctic Lilac, Castle Secrets and Magic Happens}

{Flash - Close-up of Magic Happens, Sandcastle and Spring Fling}

:::  THE OPINIONS  :::

I'm in *love* with Opaline Moonstone. It's an amazing color that's unique yet versatile, and like all of the Love Hues eyeshadows I purchased, it applies effortlessly and blends easily. I'm also fond of Sunrise Pink, which I believe could also be used as a blush if applied lightly. Even though pink is my favorite color, it's a color that usually doesn't look great with my fair skin tone and blue eyes — but Sunrise Pink has worked really well! All of the colors, when worn over UDPP and either NYX Jumbo Pencil or Maybelline Color Tattoo, seem to last all day and long into the night. Overall, Love Hues doesn't have too many wild and crazy colors, but moreso a great mix of shimmery neutrals and some nice color pops. I plan to purchase the full sizes of Opaline Moonstone, Dove Grey, Sunrise Pink and Underwater Chameleon in the near future.

Have you tried Love Hues? If so, which colors were your favorites?

Stay Fabulous!