Loose Powder

Covergirl was the first brand of makeup I ever tried, so naturally when I decided to experiment with makeup again, I decided to go with Covergirl Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner for eyeliner. I selected Perfect Point Plus because it is a pencil eyeliner that does not require a sharpener. Instead to sharpen the tip you just need to twist the pencil and the tip extends. So no more pencil sharpeners or pencil shavings littering your floor, and lastly, no more nicely sharpened pencil points breaking as you carefully pull the pencil out of the sharpener. Additionally, the other end of the pencil is a small smudging sponge to help you with your smoky eyes look or a softer line. There are quite a few colors to choose from in this collection: Black Oynx, Charcoal, Espresso, Chestnut, Gray Khaki, Midnight Blue, Plum Velvet, and Starlightening (white).

Twist and the tip "sharpens"

The idea of a self sharpening eyeliner pencil is great until it stops working. This happened after a couple usages from my Charcoal colored pencil. I could twist the pencil all day and make clicking noises with each twist, but nothing more would come out of the pencil which was very disappointing when the pencil was still virtually brand new.

Other end is a smudging sponge

Aside from the good idea and poor execution, the pencil goes on very smooth and doesn’t require too much pressure to get the desired color. This eyeliner is not water resistant, so I didn’t expect it to survive my workouts, and it usually stays on for the whole day if I apply a sort of primer on my eyelids first. If I don’t use a primer, the liner will smear or crease and it will not last all day either. Also by the end of the day, I usually have a thin line at the bottom of my eyes. At first I thought it was my mascara, but one day I did not put on any mascara and discovered that my mild raccoon eyes were a result of my eyeliner.

So I’ve concluded that this eyeliner is good for the smudged look since there is a smudging sponge provided though I hardly use the sponge. The few times I have used the sponge, I thought it made more of a mess instead of smudging the eyeliner to my liking.

I don’t really recommend this eyeliner, but if you’re on a tight budget and don’t want water resistant eyeliner, Perfect Point Plus might work for you. But the self sharpening convenience can only give this eyeliner so many points before it starts to disappoint.

I have never used a foundation primer until I went to Sephora and had a little bit applied onto my face as I got color matched for some bareMineral foundation. After that little taste of foundation primer and how soft and silky it made my skin feel, I was hooked. However, I was not hooked enough to want to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. So before going on a splurge, I got a couple samples of bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer and the Oil Control version to make sure they didn’t cause me to breakout.

Prime Time Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)

This primer goes on smoothly and evens out my skin. I love the silky feeling I get from the primer, and it also keeps my foundation powder on longer. The silky feeling from the primer isn’t very oil and is quickly absorbed into the skin though after using this for a couple days it caused me to have minor breakouts.

Pros: makes skin feel soft and silky, not too oily, a good foundation primer

Cons: Expensive, causes minor breakouts on my oily skin.

Prime Time Oil Control Foundation Primer (1 fl oz. – $21)

This primer is a lot thicker than the regular formula. The sample mini jar I had had a dollop of primer and it remained that way until I used it all. As for the regular primer, it is a lot oilier and the moment it was put in the jar it just started to coat the bottom of the jar, but the primer isn’t runny or watery just a bit viscous and not a thick gel like the Oil Control.

I found that because of the thickness of the Oil Control primer, I had to use more primer to cover my whole face, and it did not leave the nice silky feeling that the regular primer had. Also after about two hours, my face would feel very oily, oiler than usual, and I would have to blot out excess facial oil with blotting tissue. Maybe that is the function of oil control and it supposed to keep oil off the skin, but I really did not like the feeling of oil all over my T-zone. Also the primer sort of smelled like glue.

Despite these issues I had with the Oil Control Primer, the primer still did its job in keeping my foundation on; smoothing out my face and making my pores look smaller.

Pros: Works well as primer for mineral powders, did not cause breakouts

Cons: Expensive, primer is thick, does not have silky texture when applied, makes my skin feel very oily, smells like glue

After trying out these samples, I still could not bring myself to spend $21 on a tiny bottle of primer. But Cyn directed me to the Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.) website and mentioned their primer ran for nearly half of the price of bareMinerals. So I figured it couldn’t hurt and gave it a try.

E.L.F. Mineral Infused Face Primer (.49 fl oz. – $6)

This primer was everything that I hoped for. Just a little pump and I have enough primer to cover my whole face. My face feels silky smooth and it does not cause me to break out. The primer is a great base for my powder foundation and does everything that the bareMinerals primer did. Though the main difference between primers is that it is not as viscous as the bareMinerals Prime Time formula, but the E.L.F primer is far from watery. Though the first time I used the primer, it did come out very watery, but it might have been because it was a really hot day because the next time I used it, the primer came out as a gel and has always been a gel-like texture ever since.

There have been complaints about the bottle pump being cheaply made and it stops pumping after several uses, but I have been using my bottle for a while and have not had any problems with the pump. The only minor problem I have is that the cap for the bottle is a bit loose and has a tendency to fall off when in my makeup bag.

Also you don’t need a lot of the primer to cover your whole face. I usually use only half a pump and it is more than enough to cover my entire face, so this little bottle should last you a while.

Overall I am very happy with the E.L.F. primer and will probably stick to it because it is much more cost effective for my tight budget.

Pros: Makes skin feel silky and soft, cheaper price, good foundation primer for mineral powders, has not caused me to breakout yet, don’t need a lot for whole face

Cons: A bit small, but two bottles of these still costs less than the other brand, cap for bottle not tight

Always on the look out for a great new gloss, I decided to try e.l.f.’s Mineral Lip Gloss. First, like everything else at e.l.f., they are a great price: $3 for a .22 oz tube and even less if you use any of the coupons that are often about.

I’d never used these glosses before, but as I’m trying to stop using makeup items that contain parabens, I was really attracted to the, “no parabens, no preservatives, no chemical dyes,” part of this gloss.

The ingredients are as follows:

Mineral Oil, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Mica, Silica, Tocopherol Acetate(VE), Retinol(VA), Titanium Dioxide （CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica (CI 77019).

Mineral oil has a 2 to 4 rating at SkinDeep, but level 4 seems to be when it’s aerosolized. Still, that’s better than the ethyl-, methyl-, and butyl- parabens in cosmetics that rate a 5 or higher.

I picked Sorority Girl and Fierce as my first two colors. Of course the swatches on the site and the actual colors aren’t even close, but it’s okay. The colors go on sheer with a wash of color.

Having used both glosses for a few days, I have to say they are non-drying and if I’m not eating or drinking, they last for a few hours. They also aren’t very sticky, which is great.

I didn’t take a picture of the applicator wand, but it’s a standard doe foot. It doesn’t pull out much product, though, so I usually have to dip it twice for one application. Not a big deal.

Overall, I am a fan of these glosses and will probably keep one in my purse.

I’d never heard of the Nfu-Oh brand until I saw a couple swatches on a makeup blog. Nfu-Oh is a South Korean brand of nail varnish and nail art items. The only US supplier I could find was Fabuloustreet, so that’s where I purchased my first three colors.

The first one I tried is #51 – none of the polishes have names, just numbers – it’s a purple jelly base with holographic flakes that shift from blue to green to red to gold. Very pretty!

I’m wearing two coats here, but could have done a third. You can see the flakes changing color if you look at the bottle. Speaking of, I love the bottle! It’s designed like a corset and skirt. The first picture shows the front and the second shows the back. So cute!

Trying to show you the way the colors change… It was sort of difficult to photograph. (Excuse my cuticles.)

And because I can never leave anything alone, I threw on a teal-based holographic glitter polish from Sinful Colors called Nail Junkie:

I think Nail Junkie gives #51 a bit of a kick. Probably wasn’t needed. Actually, Nail Junkie reminds me of a teal version of China Glaze’s Medallion with it’s blue/teal microglitter and holographic hex glitter.

Both are great, fun polishes and I can’t wait to try to other Nfu-Oh colors I ordered!

A couple of months ago I picked up this OPI polish on sale, called Significant Other Color. It’s a nice sheer looking pink with a little bit of a green/gold irridescence in it. Since it was on sale I got it & figured it’d be a nice, light, work appropriate color.

The first picture is with a flash & a pretty accurate shot of how it looks in bright light. Second picture is with no flash, and the last is just another basic look at it. I’m pretty happy with it! I put two coats on, and it’s super sheer, so I could have even done with 3 coats. I’m happy with the color though – you can tell I have a color on, but it isn’t super bright or shiny, and it’s a little duochromatic in the right light. I put the Zoya sparkle gloss topcoat over it for a little sparkle, and it’s very pretty

Generally on this site, we won’t be posting advertisements for products, but this promotion is good for you and good for the environment!

Did you know that nail polish is considered a hazardous material and can’t just be thrown in the garbage? In liquid form, it needs to be safely disposed of, or you have to leave the bottle open for days so that it dries out, but who wants to sit around while their house fills with polish fumes?

Zoya is once again running their fantastic Nail Polish Exchange program:

For a limited time, kicking off on Earth Day (April 22, 2010 – 12 PM EST), Zoya Nail Polish will exchange your old, out-of-style, unwanted nail color and replenish your nail polish supply with fresh Zoya fashion colors. Simply send in six or more bottles of old polish – any brand other than Zoya, Qtica or Nocti, new or used – and we’ll send you the new Zoya colors of your choice in a bottle-for-bottle exchange.

Head on over to their site and trade your old bottles of polish for some new colors! The exchange runs April 22 – June 30, so you’ve got a little time.

Last month, All Lacquered Up did a write up on Nina Dobrev’s manicure from the cover of Seventeen magazine. I thought it looked really great and finding out it was just a glitter top coat meant it was easy!

First, I started with two coats of Zoya’s Jo. It’s a really pretty cornflower blue color and two coats was all I needed to get the color I wanted. Next, I applied one coat of China Glaze’s Medallion. It’s a great combination of gold microglitter and holographic hex glitter.

I wish I had applied the Medallion with a lighter hand, but I think it still looks great. I got lots of compliments on both the Zoya color and the China Glaze glitter polish! You can see from these close ups how you get that great rainbow of color from the hex glitter.

Can’t wait to try the China Glaze Medallion with other colors!

Like most people, I’ve always used the cheap $1 bottle of non-acetone polish remover from the local drugstore. Now, there’s nothing wrong with using cheap polish remover, but after 6 months, I was wondering if soaking my nails in that stuff to remove four coats of polish (base coat, two coats of color, and top coat) every week was what was contributing to the damage my nails were starting to suffer. There was even more remover used if I had on a glitter polish, as I find those stick to your nails like glue and are tough to remove.

The lovely people at Zoya were having a special on their Remove+ Big Flipper, so I decided to try it out.

The product is a mild acetone remover that they say also moisturizes and prepares nails for extended polish wear. The lavender colored liquid definitely smells like a polish remover, but the odor isn’t as strong as other brands of non-acetone removers that I’ve tried. It doesn’t leave a residue, where as with other polish removers, I feel like I need to wash my hands before applying a base coat.

The Big Flipper container is really great! I’ll admit that at first, I was a little befuddled as to how to get it to work. You have to twist it hard to unlock the top portion. Then, you place a cotton ball on top and one push gets plenty of remover to clean a few nails and most of the time I don’t use a full pump – maybe half.

I know this product looks very pricey, but a little goes a long way with this, probably because it is a mild acetone formula. I have yet to try this on heavy glitter polishes, but because this is so expensive, I have a feeling that I might switch to the cheaper polish remover just because I don’t want to waste the Remove+… then again, it might just be better to use this. I’ll have to post an update if I use it on any glitter polish!

Overall, I am a huge fan of this product! When I run out, I am most likely buying a larger 32oz refill bottle to use with the Big Flipper I already have.

With everyone “going green” or picking environmentally friendly products, Physicians Formula’s Bamboo Wear definitely brings that to mind with its bamboo motifs on its boxes and pressed powders.

I only purchased the Bamboo Wear Compact, Mirror & Brush because Physicians Formula had a “Try Me Free” rebate special going on. I figured it couldn’t hurt, and I was looking for a new compact mirror that wasn’t an old Clinique mirror that came from free gift set my mother bought eons ago.

The exterior of the compact is very natural and sleek looking since it is made from bamboo and has a simple green colored bamboo motif on the front lid. The compact is on the thick side, but the three layers of the compact swivels open in any direction you prefer. Each section is snapped shut with a magnet. The magnet feels pretty secure and does not feel like it would snap open accidently in your purse or gym bag.

The top compartment is where the mirror and brush are stored. The bottom compartment is where the refill pan of either the Silk Face Powder Refill or Silk Bronzer Refill can be dropped in. The refill pan is held down by two magnets on the bottom. Since the compact does not come with a refill pan, I was hoping I could put the brush in the bottom compartment and just flip open the top section and use the mirror. Unfortunately the bottom compartment is thinner than the flat brush, so I couldn’t stash the brush below. Since I don’t care for the Physicians Formula flat brushes, I’ll probably just leave it out. However, I don’t think putting the brush and mirror in the same compartment was a good idea, since after usage, the residue powder from the brush would fall onto the mirror making it dusty. Then again this is a problem for all compacts.

I like the idea of a refillable compact. How many times have you finished a press powder compact and thought, “What a waste, the mirror is still good,” before chucking it into the garbage bin?  Unfortunately, the Silk Face Powder in this collection only has colors that ranges from light, lighter, to translucent though I may consider the Silk Bronzers in this collection.

Overall, the compact has a nice natural Eastern look and feel to the design. It gets a plus for being refillable and recyclable even though it can be a bit bulky.

Just a quick post with a manicure I did last week. This is Zoya’s Ki with OPI Sephora’s Queen of Everything.

Ki is a really great color. It shifts from a dark purple to a dark green. Very pretty!

I decided to use Sephora OPI’s Queen of Everything for the Konad color. It’s a nice silver color and looks great with Ki.

This wore pretty well with the Essie Three Way Glaze – four days, just a little bit of edge-wear.

Coming up will be my review of Zoya Remove+ nail polish remover.