Baked Blushes Comparison

I must say, I am a huge fan of MAC's Mineralize line, especially the blush colors. When the Mineralize Grand Duo blushes came out, I immediately fell deeply in lust with Love Rock. It has a hot pink shade on one side and a golden pink melange highlight on the other. For you frequenters of my blog, you know that I loves me some hot pink. Now I didn't initially intend to buy it when I visited my local Mac, but I had to quell my beating heart somehow. :P



Love Rock kicked off my little group of baked blushes. I came upon Petticoat Mineralize Skinfinish at a local Cosmetics Company store and, like Love Rock, couldn't stop staring at the pretty marbling of colors and the unique sheen that it produced. It was like looking at a sparkly jewel. I just couldn't put it down when I got home, thrusting it in the hubs' face and saying, "LOOK HOW COOL IT IS!" He was obviously not quite as enamored as I was, but agreed it was neat.



The third one was a spontaneous purchase from Marshall's because it was less than $5. Sugar's Sweet Cheeks baked blush in Cupcake. I thought the purple color was interesting and hey, it's only $5.


A comparison photo


And here are my swatches:




Petticoat really shows off the unique sheen it has in natural light. It's like a warm coral color with red pearl. It can be used all over as a blush or face brightener, but in my opinion it can be a little too much on its own. My favorite way to wear this is as a highlighter on top of other blushes to kick it up a notch. It definitely has that "OMG, what blush are you wearing!" reaction from friends. :)

Love Rock is one of my favorite blushes. When I'm in a hurry I just swirl it all together and apply to the apples of my cheeks. When there is a little more time, I can start with the solid pink and highlight the tops of my cheeks with the marbled side, which gives a nice peachy glow. The result is like you just came in from the snow: pretty, flushed-pink cheeks. I just wish it were bigger. Petticoat is huge compared to this tiny Grand Duo blush!

Cupcake is honestly one I haven't used much just because it's so frosty. The lavendar color is interesting but the pink side actually has a silver shine to it that just doesn't match my warm complexion very well. It works as a nice eyeshadow though, and it's pretty huge when you think of it that way. The packaging is not so great, as the baked part is just sliding around on top of the plastic container. Very messy! Oh well, it didn't exactly break the bank.

All in all, I'd say Love Rock I can't live without, Petticoat is one of those special purchases that I'm still giddy about (it's very limited edition and hard to find!) and Cupcake... Well, maybe I can use it for a special all-over purple look someday.

I'd love to grow my collection of mineralized products, so let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations. I've got my eye on a couple of the regular mineralized blushes. Those swirls just make me go crazy!

Kohl's Coupon Code & My Favorite Bra

Just wanted to pop in to tell you guys that, while running around town for a few errands, I decided to stop into Kohl's to find a bra. I'm not a frequent Kohl's shopper, but my very favorite go-to bra is made by Lily of France and sometimes goes on sale at Kohl's for around $15.

It's called the "True Match" bra and it is bar none the most comfortable bra I've owned. The padding is made of memory foam so it is very soft and forms to your body. It feels like you, not padding (which I'm sure the people you hug might appreciate!) For most days, that's all I require. A bra that is comfy, soft, has a nice shape, and looks good under clothes. This seems to be extremely difficult for those on the small side of size 32A, but I literally had around 5 of these bras in different colors.



Today I scoured the racks and could NOT FIND IT! I checked the discontinued bras rack and saw a few, but none in my size. I've had to throw all but 2 of these away because I wore them until they broke so I freaked out. When I got home, I went the kohls.com and bought 3 of them. :P

So for any of you petite-chested girls who want a bra recommendation, this is it. Grab it now while you can. Kohl's has a coupon code, THREEDAYS, which goes through tomorrow (July 10-12) for 15% off everything. This basically almost covers shipping and these babies are already on clearance for $11.99. I should've bought more. Auuughhhhhh!

Hope you guys take advantage of this! I know I will be missing this bra for the rest of my life. :( :( :(

Sorry about the Hiatus

My computer got really jankety a few days ago and started making helicopter noises from the speakers. Then came the long beep, then the frozen screen.

Sorry for not being able to post! I am on my work computer right now, so I just wanted to update you guys on why I've been MIA. Hopefully all of my files were saved safely. Thank goodness for my husband, the tech genius! When I get everything reformatted and running again, I promise new posts will come.

In the meantime, here are some fun images of what I hope eventually might be my upgrade:

pink pc cases from newegg.com. click images for the link.



omg, I wish! someone's customized hello kitty pc!




Fairy Moon case from CoolerMaster via Gizmodiva.com. Princess-style with gold inlay!



Love that cut-out plate at the bottom covering the fan!



And just because it's too funny not to post, a pink, blinged Gundam:



Hope you all have happy computers and a virus-free week!

Jen

Nail Mania

I haven't posted nails in what feels like forever which means that I have been really behind! I just can't help it. I get bored with my nails looking the same way for too long, and I have to put my polish collection to good use, right?

Seriously, I bought so many this year that I don't even have a desire to buy any more right now until I have at least tried wearing all of the polishes I've hauled. It'll probably last me a while!

This'll be short and sweet. The swatches tell more than anything I can say to describe it, so here are a ton of nail pics.

OPI Princess Rule!
Love this so, so much. Way more sparkly in real life.


Essie Who's She Red
Tried out a half-moon mani like Dita Von Teese. Ironically found this pic after I did the mani! Very retro-chic.



Did a friend's nails using For Audrey and China Glaze Passion for konading. I love how metallic polish looks konaded over creme polish.


Here is my attempt at recreating the Japanese OPI Designer Series Divine polish that I fell in love with after seeing it at the nailphile.

The Nailphile's pics




My try using China Glaze How About A Tumble over OPI Your Royal Shyness. The sparkly particles aren't quite as large, but I was really happy with the result. Crazy holo in the sun! Couldn't stop staring at my nails with this on.




And I decided it needed a little zebra Konading. This cheap black Rimmel polish works surprisingly well with Konad.


OPI Breathe Life.
Part of the proceeds go to Lung Cancer Research. My pics don't show, but this polish is incredible. Glowy, semi-transparent (but not annoyingly so) and slightly duochrome. Really surprised me how much I loved this. It's a light bluish-green, pearly shade in light, and has a violet-blue look in the shade. So cool!



And finally, my current nails. Orly Goth.
Again, my photos do no justice to the sparkles. It looks like stars in the sky, with different-sized silver particles.

Hubs: "Are you wearing emo nails on purpose?"
Me: "It's not emo. It has SPARKLES!"
Hubs: "It's still emo."




Oh, men and their ignorance to fashion nails. Am I right ladies? Black is not emo, sparkles are not childish, and nude is not a real nail color, even if it is people's "natural" nail color. Don't get me wrong, I love my reds and pinks, but variety is the spice of life! And I like my nails spicy. :)

In the comments, name and describe your favorite nail polish. I want to know why you love it so much. Surely it's not just me who loves being distracted by my nails!