HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

From the bottom of my heart - I want to wish you ALL a Fabulous and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!





See you next year; lol!

{{{HUGS}}}

Ice Princess KOTW and More!

Hi everyone!

Thought I'd post my Konadicure of the week! I've named it Ice Princess, since that seems an adequate name given the fact that winter finally arrived these last days - lots of snow and really cold, brrrr... ;) It's so beautiful outside now (pictures enclosed!), and I really love the fact that we are going to have a white Christmas this year. Back when I was a kid, there were always white Christmases, nowadays we're lucky if we get any snow in December at all.
This autumn has been the warmest ever up here - some days when returning home after I've left my little one at daycare, I could hear the birds singing in the trees, and although that's nice, something is really wrong when that happens in late November... Climate has indeed changed, and I think it's really scary...

Well, on to something a little more entertaining - todays' pics!
All images are clickable ;)

 

The product stash...

 

Coastal Scents glitter "Sterling .004" (1 tsp=$1.00!)...

 

Glitter and rhinestones (rhinestones bought off eBay)...

 

 

 

Blurred...

Close-up...

I started out with 3 coats of Essie "Ballet Slippers", which is a beautiful pale pink creme that applies very well, I might add. Then, just after applying my Seche Vite topcoat, I sprinkled on the glitter starting at the base of the nails, working upwards - pretty randomly as you can probably tell ;) I thereafter picked up one rhinestone at the time, dipping the base of it in Seche Vite, and applied to the nails. I finished by applying one coat of NailTek Intensive Therapy II as a protective top coat. That's it - done!

I quite enjoy this Konadicure, and I'd love to hear what you gals think :)

I also want to show you some pics of the beautiful scenery outside my windows - the trees in particular are spectacular looking sprinkled with snow! Beware of the pic spam :)

 

 

Sunset view...

Trees surrounding our garden...

 

 

Our closest neighbors' houses, and Zingo - one of our Golden Retrievers...

 

 Our house from the main road...

 

 Another little glimpse of our home...

 

Finally, since I know I'll be very busy the upcoming days, and probably won't have time to post - I'd like to wish you all a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

- may all of your holiday wishes come true!

DIY Mixing Medium!

Hello Beauties!

Hope everyone is doing well these final, busy days before Christmas ;)

Perhaps the best way to use loose pigments is with a mixing medium; it helps eye- and/or body powders adhere to the skin - and stay there. Mixing medium also makes pigments more intense and vibrant Many makeup companies have their own product: MAC Mixing Medium instantly comes to mind, but that one is quite pricey, and can also be hard to find.

Solution: Do-It-Yourself Mixing Medium! For this purpose we use Glycerin. Glycerin (or Glycerol to use the correct term) is an organic compound, a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations.  It serves as a humectant that absorbs water from the air and seals in the moisture (hygroscopic), making your makeup last longer (good for your skin as well).

Make small batches if you don’t plan on adding preservatives. Without a preservative you can expect the shelf life to be about 2 weeks, anything left by then you throw away and make a new, fresh batch.

1.) Eye Shadow Mixing Medium:

The proper ratio for water-based mixing medium is 3 parts purified, distilled or regular water , and 1 part glycerin. I use a standard, kitchen  measuring teaspoon, and measure out 3 teaspoons of water and 1 teaspoon of glycerin into my container.

Shake it up, get your brush slightly damp and apply shadow (or ”foil”) like you normally would. Store it in a small, airtight container.

2.) Hydrating Facial Setting Spray:

Go out and get a spray bottle. Use 1 part glycerin to 10 parts water. Spray on your face after you’ve finished applying makeup, and gently pat into skin, or simply let air dry. Great substitute for MAC Fix+!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, see you soon!

Orly "Gigababe"

Good morning/afternoon/night, depending on where you are ;)

How's Christmas planning/shopping going?

As for me, I've been swamped with all kinds of activities; house renovating, writing university essays, and lots more.  I have only bought one (yes, 1) Christmas pressie as of yet, so I'll have a lot of shopping to do in the upcoming weekend... as well as cleaning the house, cooking, and so on... so much to do - so little time ;)

Anyway, enough rambling ;)
Today I'm showing you Orly "Gigababe", and this to me is babe indeed!

This is a light yellow gold shimmering shade with fab iridescent micro glitter.
It's quite sheer, so three coats were needed to get it opaque. Aside from that, the formula is top notch!

Direct sun...

 

Shade...

 

I think this shade of gold is suitable for wearing all year around - I'm gonna try it over black, perhaps I can make a Christmas inspired Konadicure for you...

How do you guys like this one?

That's all for today, until next time:

{{{HUGS}}}

Aromaleigh Spring Solstice Is Back!

Hello Beauties! And Happy December ;)

I just got a pleasant surprise when heading over to Aromaleigh's website - Spring Solstice is temporarily back - yay!
I've been awaiting this collection, since I missed out on it when it was available back this Spring! The whole collection will be sold for 2 weeks starting today, and after that part of the Spring Solstice collection will be permanent.
 

Shade Descriptions:


1. Mallow: Spring's first blush. The softest pale coral with shimmers of gold.

2. Heartleaf: The freshness of budding leaves with sparkles of violet.

3. Forget-me-not: The lush turquoise of petals, sparkling with magical turquoise sparkles.

4. Tansy: The deep golden color of closed flowerbuds, sparkling with blue highlight.

5. Jessamine: A walk through the Spring forest. Deep green and brown base with golden highlight shimmer.

6. Nasturtium: Dramatic neutral red, sparkling with highlights of pink sparks.

7. Phlox: A delicate, shimmering wash of pale silver grey with iridescent blue sparks.

8. Bellflower: A diaphanous violet purple tone, slightly sheer, with highlights of pink sparks.

9. Calendula: Warm mahogany brown with coppery sparkle shimmer.

10. Greenbrier: Lovely cool green with surprising sparks of blue, the color of the sky.

11. Alyssum: Soft frosty champagne pink with shimmer of green and blue.

12. Chicory: Rich copper with rose undertone, bright copper sparkle.

13. Hemlock: A complex, very wearable soft shimmering brown with undertones of green.

14. Lupine: Shimmering mid-tone smokey blue violet.

15. Candytuft: Petal pink with an abundance of violet sparkles highligting.

16. Trillium: Vibrant, but wearable fresh Spring green full of shimmering green sparkles.

17. Ondberry: A rich, softly shimmering eggplant purple with slight sparkles of gold.

18. Larkspur: Softly frosted lavender with a magical purple iridescence.

19. May Lily : My new favorite- the palest creamy greenish shimmer with sparkles of pink and violet.

20. Viburnum: Remember the coveted Le Mystere #69? The only Mystere that actually had a recipe? Well, this is it. The perfect marriage of cocoa brown and pewter. Softly frosted. Fantastic.

21. Godetia: Rosy brown shimmer with tiny sparkles of gold throughout.

22. Zinnia: So unique, this vibrant but soft coral peach turns into a blend of pinkish coral with a dominant violet iridescence.

I havent quite made up my mind yet as of which ones I'll order from this collection. Mallow, Larkspur, Viburnum, Zinnia, Ondberry, Hemlock and Trillium all look very tempting, though ;)

Now, tell me which your favorites from this collection are; I'd love to know!

The Spring Solstice Collection is available at Aromaleigh Cosmetics.

Pictures and shade descriptions are from Aromaleigh's website.

Match Your Hair Color with Your Skin Tone!

Hello lovelies!

I came across this very interesting article about how to best match your hair color with regards to your skin tone. Lots of great tips, tricks and explanations of how to choose the best haircolor - and of course I wanted to pass it on to you, my dear readers ;)

Enjoy!



by Nancy, VogueWigs.com Marketing Director

What Is Skin Tone?

Skin tone is the term used to describe your skin's warmth or coolness. For example, warm colored skins have yellow, red or peach undertones, while cool skins have undertones of pink, blue or violet. Although complexions can range from dark and olive to fair and light, basically skin tones are grouped into two categories--warm and cool. While many people can easily determine whether they have a warm or cool complexion, others may not be certain until they consider a few factors.

Click HERE to read the whole entry!

Covergirl Nailslicks "Midnight Forest"

Good day, girls!

Hope your Monday is going well ;) Up here it's cold and stormy today, so I'll cosy up inside with lit candles, green tea and soft music!

Let me present to you Covergirl Nailslicks "Midnight Forest".
This is a dusty dark goldish green with shimmer, which is mostly visible in direct sunlight/lamplight.

 

 

 

Close up...

 

I'm quite enjoying this shade, although it can look a little dull when inside. Application was very good, I had no problems at all. I believe I used three coats in the above images. This was my first Covergirl polish, and I wasn't disappointed ;)

On a side note - my nails are a big hot mess right now. Very weak and brittle, they break and peel constantly and have lots of ridges, hence why they are so short at the moment...  :(
I'm working on it though, I'm bathing them (ok, slight exaggeration ;)) in CND Solar Oil, which I love, and I'm also using Nailtek Foundation II and Orly Nail Armor as my basecoats. I'm considering buying OPI Nail Envy and try out that one as well, do you guys have any inputs or other product suggestions that might help?

Hope you've enjoyed your stay, thanks for dropping by ;))

The She Space Sample Baggies & Review

I thought this post might be helpful for anyone considering trying out The She Space mineral pigments.

Now, before you continue reading, please keep in mind that opinions expressed in this post are just my personal ones, based on my own experience ;)
Images in this post are clickable for larger view - I've left them huge, so that you can get a close look of the sample baggies with color names... (some pigments are regular, while some are limited editions - meaning some of these might not be available on the website anylonger)

I have ordered quite many pigment sample baggies from TSS in the past, and while both the color selection and the price is totally awesome, I have mixed feelings about them.

Let me just begin by saying I h-a-t-e baggies!! Although they are an economical way to try out lots of different shades, they are terribly messy to work with in my opinion. I much prefer sample jars, and I think if you have a choice, it's well worth it to spend a few extra bucks to get jars instead of baggies. (TSS don't offer sample jars, though) Of course you can always transfer the samples from the baggie to a jar yourself if you wish. I usually just tip a little out into a separate lid before I use them. Fussy, but it works ;)
Samples are very small, but as Heather (the owner) states on the website and on her blog, the samples are just that: samples - meant for you to try out for a few applications to see how you like a particular color.

Oki... moving on to the product itself.
I personally feel the quality is rather inconsistent - it's either hit or miss - pigmentation wise, that is. Many colors become really washed out when applied, leaving mostly shimmer/sparkle to be noticed on the eyelid. When you blend/buff the colors, they blend into nothing; the color almost totally disappears (and flies all over the place as well). This is not the case with ALL colors, but it happens with a lot of them, which is why I think it deserves to be mentioned.
The way I get around this when using my TSS pigments is I only use one lid shade and one highlight shade. That way I don't have to do a lot of blending/buffing - I just gently pat on my lid shade and after that I apply a highlighter shade on the brow bone.

It is possible I would have a different outcome with these if I foiled them... I haven't tried that, so can't comment on that aspect. Mind you, I rarely foil my pigments, because I think they become hard to work with and to blend when applied wet (goes for most pigments - not just TSS). Dry application has always been my preferred method, except when using pigments for lining. Maybe these do behave differently when applied wet/moist, I simply don't know. In my mind I shouldn't "have" to use them wet just to get them to show up, though ;) Also - I'm always in a hurry, so I want to avoid all unnecessary "extra steps" when getting ready...

Regardless of my seemingly not-so-great review of these, I keep buying TSS pigments. I don't think they are a bad product at all, in fact I quite like it, and if you are a fan of subtle eye color payoff, you might enjoy them too. If you visit the website you will find some of the brightest, most vibrant colors out there, as well as subtle, neutral everyday shades. New and limited collections are released on a regular basis, which I think is awesome.
Customer service is top notch at TSS; Heather always replies quickly to emails/inquiries, which is a great thing. Shipping time I would say is average - I usually have my orders within a two-week period (and I'm overseas). International shipping costs are amazingly low, too: $2,50 (goes for sample orders), which is far cheaper than I pay for domestic shipping up here!

Samples from The She Space IMO are very reasonably priced at fifty cents each, and come in tons of different colors, of which many are totally unique - which is one thing I really like about Heather's creations. Lots of truly amazing colors that you'll have a hard time finding anywhere else.

Pigments can be purchased directly from The She Space's website.

I hope you've enjoyed this post - thanks for dropping by ;)

OPI Cabernet For The Lady

This is OPI Cabernet For The Lady.

This is a really pretty deep berry wine/burgundy/claret with a slight blue shimmer. It seems to be quite a close match to Bogota Blackberry, but since I don't own that one I'm afraid I can't compare them for you... ;)
Yum, I am in love with this one - it's such a sophisticated, velvet-y color, and very autumn appropriate as well.

 On to the pics! (as always; they are clickable)

Sunlight...

 Shade...

Chillin' in the grass...

Close up...

Application was a breeze, two coats offered great opacity. I can't comment on the lasting power since I only wore it for one day (anxious to try out other polishes from the ever growing stash, y'a know ;)).

What do you think of this one?

That's all I have for you today - hope to see you soon ;)