{GLAMOUR.US}
WHERE BEAUTIFUL THINGS MEET DEADLY STYLE, INTERMINGLING WITH FASHION DESIGN, ART, HOME DECOR, TRAVEL & FIERCE ATTITUDE

17.7.11

{epic.trip.acquisitions}

I just got back from a 3-day shopping spree on the mainland. I am experiencing an intense level of spending guilt- but I really do love everything I got. Here goes!

Acrylic False Ear Tapers in "Pink Stars"
$20 (pair); Culture Craze

Before you torture me for not doing the real deal, I do have 14 gauge ear holes, but I am a type 1 diabetic, and healing wounds or scars are near impossible. While I love the idea of how they look now, in my twenties, I won't love the holes they leave behind when I'm a senior citizen,

Benefit Lemon Aid Color Correcting Eye Primer
$26; Sephora

I did a lot of research on eye primers vs price. We had a lot to choose from- Benefit, NARS, Urban Decay, etc. We even went by MAC. The best primer vs price I could find was this one. Not only was this one twice as big (more product) but it was the cheapest. Great about this one, is that it actually has a great color all on its own! :P After a day of wear (12 hours) on one eye, measured against one eye not primed, the difference was pretty pronounced. There was no creasing or smudging on the primed eye, and I have a lot of problems with creasing makeup. Very impressed.

 Make Up For Ever Pigment in "Fuschia"
$19.99; Sephora

Really brilliant colors, applied wet or dry. The display at Sephora contained a lot of tutorials and combination options. I fell in love because I am actually a huge Britney fan, and I wanted to know what the fuss was about when it came to her recent brand affiliation with MUFE. Great products- the colors went on my skin as vibrantly as they looked in the pot, and stayed PUT ALL DAY.

 Make Up For Ever Pigment in "Red"
$19.99; Sephora

I've been looking for red eyeshadow forever. The only place I could find it before was Sugarpill, and I've never actually tried any of their products.
 Mirrored Aviator-Style Sunglasses
$8; Ardene

BellaPierre Mica Mineral Pigment in "Money"
$10; BellaPierre

BellaPierre Mica Mineral Pigment in "Tin Man"
$10; BellaPierre

BellaPierre Mica Mineral Makeup in "Freeze"
$10; BellaPierre

You may have seen many products from Micabella on my blog so far. I have 10 colors with Micabella. But I got suckered into checking out a Bellapierre kiosk while on holiday, we were curious about the competition, or if they were affiliated. Bellapierre has a much larger selection, while some of the colors are very similar, their prices are also competitive (the same). The colors, however, are much more vibrant, and you can tell just by testing application that they make a far superior product. My only word of warning: Their customer service is kinda iffy and their site has very little
information about where to go to buy their products. It's sad that such a great product is backed by such a great army of idiots. Unfortunately I didn't actually get "Freeze" which I wanted. The sales girl screwed up and put in another blue she had said she admired. I was NOT happy, as I couldn't return to exchange it.

Acrylic False Tapers in "Skulls"
$26; Body Modz

This company has a lot of locations but really ambiguous pricing. Through my trip I came across three locations for Body Modz and saw three dramatically different prices for these, varying from $25 each, to $26 per pair.

 Tish & Snooky's Manic Panic Lust Dust in "Infra Red"
$7; Millennium Vancouver

Millennium is closing. :( Their location in Metrotown could not support the rent they were being asked for and they were incidentally forced to close and move. They moved downtown, right next to Golden Age Comics on Granville. Amazing location, but the loss of revenue and the expense of moving meant that they could not afford to advertise for their new location except via facebook- most of their original patrons were not even aware they had reopened. If you love this shop, please go and buy. They could save their business with some revenue. Lots of steampunk fashions, unfortunately, not the kind of prices you expect at a clearance sale.

Manic panic makes a really good product. This smudges out a bit more than I want for a red, and it isn't quite as vibrant. It's a shimmer, and I wanted a red matte. But for $7, Manic Panic does make great products (I have one of their lipsticks as well) and it was worth a try.

Boca Performance Motorsport Fitness Jacket
$15; Sears

Last minute decision. I just randomly happened upon it and fell in love with it at 40% off. Looks really great paired with real clothes and not just a tracksuit.


Other Acquisitions:

14.7.11

{new.pretties.since.winter.part.2}

Twilight Volturi Labyrinth Loose Eye Pigment in "Beloved"
$4.99; London Drugs (clearance)
 
Twilight Volturi Labyrinth Loose Eye Pigment in "Lover"
$4.99; London Drugs (clearance)

Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Aphrodite"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)

Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Sunrise"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)



Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Resonance"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)


Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Arrogance"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)


Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Summon"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)


Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Sunrise"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)




Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Diligence"
$10 (reg. $20, bulk discount)


Benefit Shimmer Powder Show-Offs in "Lola"
$12.99; Shopper's Drug Mart


NYC City Duet Eyeshadow in "Bowling Green"
$2.49; Wal-Mart

 Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in "I Dream of Greenie"
$4.69; Wal-Mart
Wet 'n Wild Mega Liner liquid eyeliner in ""Blackest Black"
$2.59; Wal-Mart

  Hard Candy Visibly Wet Shockingly Glossy Lip Pencil in "Babe"
$5.39; Wal-Mart
(I saw this and was really angry. So close to dropping $20 on my Lise Watier pencil, this near-identical pencil came out for a quarter of the price. This underlines why I so seldomly dump a lot of money on higher-end makeup. Another company manages to make an identical or even competitive product for a lot less.)

Covergirl Lip Perfection lipstick in "Enchantress"
$10.99; London Drugs
I was in love with both the first edition MAC Viva Glam Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj 'Pink Friday' lipsticks, but I missed both production runs- I've bought a few vibrant pinks looking for something similar, but they were all too dark and too fuschia (great colors anyway- just not quite what I was looking for). This is the closest one I've found. It can go on thick and vibrant or soft and sheer, depending on how generously you apply it. Great find!

Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipstick in "Divine"
$19.99; London Drugs
Worth every penny. Amazing color, really close to the first-run MAC Viva Glam Lady Gaga lipstick shade. This one is a bit darker and has more purple than the CoverGirl (above).

Gosh Star Shine Lip Gloss in "Reggae Star"
$2.99; Shopper's Drug Mart (clearance)
... Fades into a nice sheer sand color. Really sultry and sexy looking.

Sally Hanson Hi-Definition Nail Color in "DVD"
$2.49; Wal-Mart 

 Sally Hanson Hi-Definition Nail Color in "Spectrum"
$2.49; Wal-Mart

Wet 'n Wild fastdry Nail Color in "Gray's Anatomy"
$2.49; Wal-Mart


Rimmel London 60 Second Nail Enamel in "Grey Matter"
$3.29; Wal-Mart

I fell in love with the two gray polishes because of Kurt Hummel from Glee. There is one episode where we see his bedroom, and he's painted it Dior Gray, It's also such an unusual choice for nail polish, it just had to be mine!

LUSH Caca Auburn Henna Hair Dye
$20.99; LUSH
My best advice for the use of this brand of henna, is add things to enhance the color. We used lemon juice and paprika. Henna kind-of smells like compost. To make it smell awesome, add cinnamon- it makes the dye smell like ginger snap cookies. I kept my dye on overnight, wrapped in plastic and a towel. They recommend 3-8 hours at the least.

T for Toes Tea Tree Powder
$12.99; LUSH
This stuff is the homemade version of gold bond. Essentially it has tea tree oil, peppermint and antifungals to keep your feet smelling good, and dry. I use a cheap cosmetic brush to spread it evenly between my toes. I occasionally sprinkle it in my shoes. It has a really pleasant lemony smell, too.

30.4.11

[new.pretties.since.winter.part.1]

Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner in "Vice"
Wal-Mart; $4.99
I also got this eyeliner in "Notorious" which is  a bright and brillaint fuchsia pink color with pink sparkles; and "Money" which is a really nice mossy green color with silvery green sparkles and "Wild Child" which is a sparkly version of Chop Suey (the matte eyeliner) and is similar to "Vice" but not as bright.

Hard Candy Eye Def Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow in "Lagoon"
Wal-Mart; $5.49

Hard Candy Eye Def Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow in "Algae"
Wal-Mart; $5.49
Sadly, the first Hard Candy product that disappointed me. It goes on thick, which is nice because it spreads fairly well and the color is nice and brilliant. One one hand, it dries fairly quickly, but the downside is it cracks, it flakes, and if you touch it at all it rubs off really easily. All you need to do to get it off is wipe your eye with tissue. I suppose that one is up to you- I'd rather have to wash my face or use makeup remover to get something off rather than have it gradually flake off into my eyes.


Hard Candy Meteor-Eyes Baked Eyeshadow in "Space Cadet"
Wal-Mart; $5.49
This picture is a little more blue than the real thing. However, it goes on fabulously with "Money" liner.

NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Face Powder in "Warm Beige (704A)"
Wal-Mart; $3.49

NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in "Translucent (741A)"
Wal-Mart; $3.49

Rimmel London Stay Matte + Skinpure Complex Clarifying Matte Foundation in "Warm 102)"
Shoppers Drug Mart; $2.99

Rimmel London Recover Anti-Fatigue Concealer
Shoppers Drug Mart; $2.99

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in "Blackest Black"
Pharmasave; $4.99
I love how black the mascara itself is, but I hate the brush. I HATE the brush. The bristles are thick and hard, and spiralled, the brush is also curved, so you get thick application and it doesn't spread very nicely. I'm thinking about stealing an old brush, washing it and swapping it out with this one. So far, my favorite mascara to date is still Rimmel (all of their mascara types), with L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara running a close second. I am intrigued to try that new Cover Girl Falsies mascara, too.

Lise Watier Lip Kiss Crayon in "Rose Intense"
London Drugs; $18.99
The color pictured is not Rose Intense, which is a bright neon pink with a shimmer. I really splurged on this one. I very rarely spend more than a few dollars on makeup items.

Quo Electric Eyes Pencil in "Spark"
Shoppers Drug Mart; $7.99
Spark is the near-white pencil pictured above. It does on sheer, with an opalescent sheen.

NYC City Duet Eyeshadow in "Upper Zest Side"
Wal-Mart; $2.49
I also want to get it in "Bowling Green". The yellow isn't quite as brilliant as I would like, but the orange is intense on skin.

Fruits & Passion Plant Wax Base Lip Balm in "Monoï"
Fruits & Passion; (GIFT)

Clean & Clear Advantage Mark Treatment
Liquidation World; $0.99

Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Wild Rose (SP3)"
Micabella; $5 (reg $20, group purchase discount)
This color is actually a little bit more pink, but it goes on almost white with a pink opalescent sheen. It's a beautiful color. Most people use it as blush, but I love it for the eyes.

Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Storm (SP4)"
Micabella; $5 (reg. $20, group purchase discount)

Micabella Mica Mineral Makeup in "Carnival (SP9)"
Micabella; $5 (reg. $20, group purchase discount)
All Micabella shadows are shimmery. This one is actually really sparkly. After a few hours of wear the sparkliness fades into a nice sheen, but it goes on very brilliantly.

Micabella Clear Lip Balm
Micabella; $5 (reg. $10, group purchase discount)

About Micabella:
There are mixed reviews about Micabella online because of the price, the way the sales clerks are, and the amazing discounts they somehow manage to give you when you buy in bigger volumes. At face value, for one or two items, Micabella is a total ripoff. Buying makeup from them is sort-of a game. The best thing to do is to go in with a group of people and buy together, splitting the bill evenly. Usually the person paying the tax gets the extra item (there is usually one extra item-- a group of three people buys 10 eyeshadows for $80, they all get three each, but the person paying the tax gets four)... etc.
Their products though are actually really nice. But I am a penny pincher. I will generally not buy makeup over $5.00 or so. So every few months my sisters, mom, girlfriends and I go in to Micabella and buy together. The more you buy the bigger the discount they'll give you. Also, on occasion they will throw in extra items. It's not a bad way to get really nice makeup for a deal.
The way Micabella mineral makeup works is that it can be used for eyes, lips, blush... it can be used both wet and dry. It is the pigment, so you shake a little bit into the lid (and I mean a little bit- a little goes a long, long way) and apply on a bare eyelid for a nice shimmer, or on primer for a more bold shimmer. You can also mix it on a damp brush for a brilliant hardline, or sweep it onto lips with a dry brush and cover with clear lip gloss. I have mica lipgloss but any clear gloss works just as well. I really want to get the primer down the road. Right now I use my Rimmel concealer. The Mica eyeshadow stays on really well, it doesn't crease much and even after sleeping in it, it still looks pretty fabulous.