Darling Diva: The Alchemist

purchased by me

The Alchemist was my first purchase from Darling Diva, but it won't be my last.  I first saw this beauty on The Crumpet's nail blog and I swear violins were playing. :D  I've been trying to find a red holographic nail polish to love ever since Nubar Brilliant let me down, and finally, I have!

The Alchemist is a blue-toned red with a strong linear holo, and the formula is smooth, perfect and opaque in two coats.  This is love in a bottle, people.

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As you can see, it's still gorgeous in low lighting, and what are you waiting for?  Get thee to Darling Diva and buy a bottle for $11.00 plus shipping!

Incoco Fall 2014: Royal Flush

purchased by me

Royal Flush is part of Incoco's Fall 2014 collection, and it got me a ton of compliments.  With a black lace pattern on a red background, these polish strips are simple but stunning.  Application was a typical Incoco dream.

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Royal Flush and the rest of the fall collection are available at Incoco for $8.99 each plus shipping.

November Ipsy bag

purchased by me

This month's Ipsy bag is another slight improvement, but I wish Ipsy would ask what colors I like, because the eye pencil is intriguing but completely the wrong color for me!

My November bag included:

be Delectable from Cake Beauty Lemon & Cream Mini Hand Cream ($5.50)

Temptu S/B Highlighter pink pearl sample

J. Cat Beauty Wonder Lip Paint ($4.99)

clariSEA Sea Salt Solutions Instant Glow Powder Exfoliant sample

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil Ultra Olive ($17.00)

The hand cream is very nice, moisturizing but non-greasy.  The scent is very sweet with only a tiny pop of lemon.

The facial exfoliant is one I'm excited to try, probably in tonight's shower.

The eye pencil is much too yellow of a green for me, so it will find a new home.

The Temptu sample is meant for an airbrush system, so I have to wonder WTF Ipsy was thinking.

I'm most excited about the Wonder Lip Paint, because it's been all over the beauty blogosphere of late, plus I've been meaning to see if I can rock a red lip!

Incoco Holiday 2014 has arrived!

press release

Butter London Steampunk Ball

purchased by me

This fall, Butter London has an entire steampunk-themed collection.  Of course I had to get something, so I chose the Steampunk Ball set because 5 of the 6 polishes are only available in this set.  The polishes are all minis, which works for me because I can't remember the last time I used up a whole bottle, and with the exception of the glitter, all polishes were opaque in two effortless, perfectly-behaved coats.

Bric-A-Brac is red glitter in a warm red base.  It's more brick-colored in low light, and it's the only polish that is not exclusive to this set.

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Barkers is a dark grey with multi-colored micro glitter, very pretty and steampunk-y.

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Baroness is a rosy bronze shimmer and very prone to brush strokes, which means you can see how careless my application was on this one. *blush*

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Brass Goggles is a clear glitter base with black and gold glitter.  It's not quite opaque at two coats, but could easy be opaque with three.

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Full Steam Ahead is a dark grey crème which leans green in low light.

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Pinkies Up is a peach shimmer with a frost finish and visible brush strokes.

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If you're interested in the Steampunk Ball collection, you can find it at Butter London and at Ulta for $39.00 + any applicable tax and shipping.

I Love Nail Polish: Homecoming

purchased by me

Homecoming is a blackened purple linear holo.  It's dark enough that in low light, it looks like black, but in brighter light you can see it's a deep purple.  The holo is not quite as bendy as Champagne Blush or Black Orchid, but the formula is great, and it was opaque in two coats at conversational distance.  The brighter light in my flash and sun swatches shows some bald spots I never saw on my nails.

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If you like dark, dark, darkest purple holo polish, get thee to ILNP and grab a bottle of Homecoming.

I Love Nail Polish: Champagne Blush

purchased by me

Champagne Blush is as good a name for this color as any other, because it's hard to pin down.  It's a blend of faded salmon pink and faded coppery gold, and the holo is fiercely bendy.  It's a very well-behaved polish as well, opaque in two coats that don't drip, pool, drag or bubble.

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You can find Champagne Blush for $10 at the ILNP website.