Dreams of New Orleans

Shoe Dazzle Review

2011-12-01T12:29:00.014-05:00

Have you ever had such an amazing customer service experience that it completely changed your mood for the rest of the day?

I work in retail, and one of the many departments I'm thrown into daily is Customer Service. I'm the type of person who aim's to please, and I always try to go out of my way to do whatever I can for an unhappy customer. I also see daily that not everyone is on the same page, or has the same attitude that I do. That's why I'm completely delighted when I see a whole company that does the same. The WHOLE COMPANY, guys!

Let me fill you in on all the details:
Shoedazzle is a monthly shoe club that puts out new shoes on the first of the month and gives you a customized showroom based on a quick survey you fill out when you join. Each pair is $39.99 and they also offer purses and jewelry sets for the same price. Every Tuesday and Thursday they have a special item for about 36 hours called a 'Dazzle Deal' (also $39.99) that can range from clothing, luggage, jewelry boxes - you name it! Now that we're in December, they also offer the Holiday Shop with plenty of goodies to pick from to treat yourself or those special people in your life. Shipping is free in the U.S., as are returns.

Before you start raising your eyebrow in disbelief, let me assure you that this is definitely not a scam. I had the same assumptions before signing up. Fortunately, you do not have to enter your card information as soon as you sign up, so you can browse around and get a feel for what items you like most. I stalked the site for months before placing an order! Once you make your first purchase, your card info IS stored, but you have the option to skip the month before the 5th so that you don't get charged. (A great tip from the ladies of the Shoe Dazzle facebook page - set a reminder on your cell phone so you don't forget!) If you do forget to skip, you get charged and receive a credit that is good for any one item on the site. It's a win-win situation, and you're not losing out on your hard-earned cash either way.

The showroom is posted every first of the month at 12am PST. So for us east coast ladies, that is approximately 3am. It includes shoe, jewelry and purse selections hand-picked for you based on the survey you fill out when you sign up. Don't see anything you like? No worries! There's options above each category to request alternates for the month. All you have to do is fill out a few questions about what kind of shoes you're looking for, and voila! New showroom in 24 hours. Or, if you'd like, you can head on over to the Shoedazzle facebook page and request certain types of shoes or specific shoes that you'd like to see. The Dazzlers (SD's customer service) are on the page during the day to help you out with any issues you may have. They are seriously an amazing group of people, and I'll get into that in a second.

The shoes range in heel height and style, and there's always something for everyone. The sizes range from 5.5 to 11, and I find that going up a half size always works for me. (I normally wear and 8.5 - I go up to a 9 in SD and I'm good to go!) I agree that it's scary at first ordering shoes online - what if they don't fit? However, included in your box is a label - just in case - which enables you to return the shoes free of charge. You can call Shoedazzle directly about your return, and if the style you want is still in stock, they will be able to ship them out to you. If not, you'll receive a credit for another great pair of shoes. If a shoe is sold out on the website, you can add yourself to the waitlist to be notified when it comes back into stock. Although if you really, realllllly need the specific shoe, the Dazzlers encourage you to call them so that they can check the real time inventory for you. How great is that?

If you're low on cash but want to save the page for a specific shoe to buy at a later time, Shoedazzle offers a 'Favorites' option - just click the little heart next to the name of the shoe and it will be automatically added into your favorites so you can go back and browse them later. If your friends also have SD accounts, you can link your account to facebook which will enable you to browse their showrooms as well.

For every item you purchase, you receive 100 'Style Points'. Once you get 1000 of these points, you get a credit - which basically means a free pair of shoes, bag, or jewelry set of your choice. I think this is an awesome incentive and a nice reward for the loyal customers. Being able to pick your own "prize" makes it so much better. The shipping is fast and a tracking number is provided as soon as the item ships - you can check the status of your order at all times under the My Account - My Orders tab. For me, in New Jersey, shipping takes anywhere from 5-6 days, but I've heard that the lucky ladies in California get extremely fast shipping - a perk of living near the warehouse! Each pair of shoes comes in a bright pink box - Shoedazzle's signature color. I love the packaging and have to admit, this is the first time that I've actually held on to my shoe boxes! Most pairs also include a pink dust bag to protect your heels. On your order reciept, Shoedazzle also prints little 'business cards' for you, with your link and name in case you want to hand them out to someone who's interested in signing up. I love attention to detail, and this is just too cute and fun.

One of the things I enjoy most about being a part of SD is their very active facebook page. Members often post pictures of their shoes when they get them - so you can see them on someone before you buy. Everyone is very helpful as well - you can post a question there, and if the Dazzlers aren't on, you bet one of the helpful women on the page will probably be able to answer for you. There's also fun contests on the facebook page to win

So far, I've purchased ten pairs of shoes and one of the Dazzle Deals - a large leopard luggage bag. I've been extremely pleased with all of my purchases. Most of my orders are heels (I'm a fiend for tall, sexy shoes) but I've also ordered two pairs of thigh-high boots (YES, for $39.99 compared to the outrageous prices I've seen in stores) and one pair of sneakers. So far they've all held up well, just as good as any other shoe I've purchased which really pleases me. The sneakers went running and on a trip to NYC in the same night and held up well in comfort and make.

(the Worldly Weekender in Silver Leopard)

So, here's my customer service story. It involves that beauty that you see above. The package arrived at my door and after opening it once inside, I realized it was not what you see above and instead a (very nice, if I must say) studded red purse. I went on to the SD Facebook page and posted a picture of what I had received along with my customer ID. Within five minutes, literally, one of the dazzlers gave me a call to sort it out. She was super sweet and apologetic about the whole issue and explained how I would go about returning it. She ordered me another right then and there. I brought the wrong bag to FedEx, in the same box, and they taped it up and sent me on my way with a tracking number. A few days later, the right item was at my doorstep. I was so blown away with how easy they made it, how great they were (I've had companies act like it's my fault before) and how fast it was made right. It was one of those experiences that made me all bubbly for the rest of the day - I really love dealing with great people. It's nice to know that you're in good hands if something does go wrong. Let's face it, everyone makes mistakes, even huge companies, and it's settling to know it'll be fixed immediately instead of sitting on the phone for hours or being unable to return the item. Big shout-out to all of the Dazzle Crew (especially Jane) for doing such a great job! You guys seriously rock!

(This is Ezra. She makes me feel like such a bad ass with the spikes, and I'm loving the tan color.)

(This is Marryl. She might just be my favorite Shoedazzle shoe yet. You can't see it from the image, but her toes are pointed a bit - giving them the exact look of the nude Louboutins that all the celebs are rockin' right now.)

(This is Mel B - and if you're thinking that sounds familiar, it's because she was created by Scary Spice.. how freakin awesome is that? Also, 100% of all profits benefit Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Great shoes, great cause.)

(This is Vogue - Kim K wore her in her shoot for lucky magazine on KUWTK. I had to lighten the picture so it's hard to tell, but she's entirely done out in a reflective silver and has Shoedazzle's signature pink sole.)

If I could rate Shoedazzle out of five stars, I'd probably be upset that I couldn't give them six. That's how much I've grown to love this company. If you're thinking about signing up, go for it! There's nothing to lose, and many gorgeous pairs of shoes to gain. If you use my link (http://www.shoedazzle.com/invite/1f23ysql1t) you will get 20% off your first pair. What are you waiting for? Start Dazzling!

All images are either taken from the Shoedazzle website or taken myself. I was not compensated to write this review and all items were purchased by me. As always, this review is purely my own opinion.

Rant: Luuux.

2010-10-14T18:12:00.004-04:00

I'm home sick today, so of course I caught up on some blog reading. Two posts I stumbled upon really irked me, enough to write about it here.

A few weeks back on one of my days off I noticed a link to 'Luuux' on twitter. I was curious, and of course went to check it out. I made an account to see what it was all about - I still can't say I completely grasp it though. I logged off as soon as I saw the list of instructions of things to do just to update your profile. I haven't been back on since, nor am I planning on it. It's basically a site where you comment/report/post things to earn luuux currency, which you then can spend on high end items. Seeing all the prizes, it seemed incredibly sketchy.

Anyway, the posts in question come from misschievous and vampyvarnish. You can check them out for yourself here:

http://www.misschievous.tv/2010/10/luuux-place-where-thieves-get-ahead.html

http://www.vampyvarnish.com/2010/10/12/luuux-thief-kelly-brennan/

I find it disgusting that this site allows it's members to completely rip off beauty bloggers hard work. It doesn't matter if it's linked or copied with no credit - it's still stealing. There's hundreds of bloggers that put hours into their posts, taking and editing dozens of photos, trying new products to keep their followers informed - and now someone who didn't do any work can copy and paste your post and earn money off of it. Most bloggers don't blog for cash - they do it out of their love for cosmetics. It's horrible that people would even think to do this in the first place, which of course, leads me into my next subject...

I've noticed that a common theme has been popping up in the beauty community slowly over the past few months - Greed. I'm mainly speaking about youtube with this one. I feel as though I can't trust half the reviews I watch because everyone just wants the money. The other day I was reading Grey's post and saw the comment about how a youtuber signed up with a company for free product, never made a video, then signed up again under another youtubers name. It's upsetting to see that some people only care about the money, fame, and free things blogging/vlogging can offer. Of course, this is how it is in the real world.. people will do whatever to get ahead. So why is it ok to launch a site that basically feeds off the greed of people desperate to own high end items? With the many blog posts popping up about how bloggers content is getting stolen, it's already apparent that there are some people who will do whatever to get their hands on what they want. Copyright laws or not. This site takes the fun out of blogging and replaces it with an agenda.

My advice to anyone that desperate to own CL shoes, or a MacBook Pro: save. If you want it that badly, save your money. Don't have a job? get one. Even if you put fifty dollars aside out of each paycheck, you'll still be getting that item faster than you would with this crappy site.
Willpower is much more respectable than ripping others off.

I have to say, I agree wholeheartedly with misshievous' statement: 'real bloggers don't blog on luuux.'

What's your opinion on the whole Luuux trend?

Tag: Tali's Tag (taken from Joeybunny)

2010-09-29T11:33:00.003-04:00

Since I haven't posted in quite some time, I figured this would be fun to do!

Would You Rather..

Never use mascara again or bronzer again?

Bronzer, fer sure. I'm all kinds of pale to begin with, so unless it's summer and I've really been on top of my tanning game, it makes me look gross and muddy. Mascara on the other hand, I can't live without. It just looks weird to have your eyes all done up with no mascara.

Only be able to buy high end make-up or drugstore make-up again?

Well, I really really love Revlon and Wet'n'Wild lately, so this is kind of hard. I'd probably have to go with high end though, just because of all the different color choices.

Be In Love or Be Loved?
Be loved. Being in love is too much work, and this question doesn't specify if the person I'm in love with loves me back. :p

Go out with chipped nail varnish or unshaven legs?
Chipped polish. No matter what brand/formula/top coat I use it always chips by the end of the work day anyway. Retail + nice nails = disaster.

Go out with messy hair or no make-up?

I'm very guilty of both, honestly. :p
I guess no makeup, because I rarely wear it to work (where I am 70% of the time) and I'm comfortable without it. I get pretty self-conscious about my hair though.

Leave the house with an orange tan or peroxide-gone-wrong ginger hair?

Orange tan. I'm from New Jersey, so this is completely acceptable. The hair would spark gossip, the tan would initiate me into the land of the guidettes.

It were Winter forever or Summer forever?

Both aren't ideal for me :X I guess winter, because it still gets warm sometimes.. I wouldn't be able to deal with the crazy heat of summer.

Leave the house with dried toothpaste drool or crusty yellow sleep eyes?

Er, I guess drool. I don't think either would make it past my frequent mirror checks before I leave the house, but anythings possible. ;D

Give up all MAC or Illamasqua products?

Illamasqua. As much as I hate MAC's 'omgggzz new collectionzz get it!!!111' crap, I still like their products. They have a huge range of things. I guess I'm biased, because I've also never tried Illamasqua.

I hopefully will have a new post up sometime (aiming for early October).. possibly some swatches/reviews. Sorry for the hiatus, I'm finally working and I'm tired all the time. I did somehow manage to lose about ten pounds (although best friend claims it's twenty.. I don't believe it), which is a plus. Anyway, hope all of you are having a good September (what's left of it!)

x

Question: Depotting MAC Shadows

2010-07-21T23:13:00.006-04:00

This is kind of random, I know. :)

To keep it short and simple,

What is your opinion on Back 2 Mac?
How do you feel about depotting shadows with LE packaging?

I ask because I'm about to sit down and depot tomorrow. I know I tweeted earlier in the week that I was going to depot, but I got sidetracked. I have a lot to do, about 14 shadows - not even sure if there's enough space in my two palettes. I did do a test-run on Carbon, and it was actually easy to do! I don't know if I should post a step-by-step guide to depotting as there are tons out there, but let me know if you'd like to see it!

As for depotting LE shadows.. I'm not sure yet! Yes, they mean more B2M's, but they're so pretty D:
I might give it some time. I know I've expressed my dislike of palettes on here before but for some strange reason I've been all about organizing and having my stash all together. It sounds more appealing to have them in one place. As you can see, I'm torn. :p

Hope you're all having a great week so far, although it's only Wednesday!

DIY: Brush Holder.

2010-06-17T00:40:00.007-04:00

So a week or two ago I read on Phyrra's blog about how she made a unique brush holder out of a glass container & colored sand. I thought this was a brilliant idea, not only because I'm in love with organizing, but because it looks so clean and flawless. (I'm big on perfecting things, although you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at my disaster of a room ;)
Basically I've been bugging my mum left and right to take me to the craft store. She'd been busy all week, and then my birthday came around so it felt nearly impossible. In between the two I had stopped at Walmart and looked around their small craft section, but nothing really caught my eye. I finally had the chance to go this morning when I got home. I wound up picking out two glass containers, a long oval one for my larger/longer brushes and a small square one for my smaller/shorter brushes. I was so happy when I got to the isle with the sand in it because they had the exact three colors to match my room & sheets. (White, green and turquoise. There's also brown in my sheets but I didn't want brown sand, I really don't like that color. haha.)

I layered each of the colors, and surprisingly they stayed put after sticking the brushes in. I'm extremely satisfied with how they look - I actually can't stop looking at them at all! :) Here's some pictures of the finished product:

(I found that huge faux-gemstone at Michael's Crafts as well. It was only $2!)

If I remember correctly, the glass jars ranged from $1-15 depending on what size you want. This is a huge bargain compared to prices you'd pay for a regular brush holder. I think my small jar was around $2 and my larger jar was $8. The bags of sand were $3 each.

If you have a huge selection of brushes a larger container would work just fine. I have about twenty brushes in mine right now, and as you can see from the pictures, the smaller one is barely filled. The only setback is that a bit of sand will sometimes stick to the brush handle, but it's easy to just brush it off over the container. If you'd like, you can even get marbles or tiny colored stones to place in the bottom.. the possibilities are endless! This idea is great for someone that enjoys being able to see all their brushes. It's a huge time-saver when you're in a rush and have no time to dig around for one brush.

Many thanks to Phyrra for this awesome storage idea! Make sure you click on the link up there and check hers out as well, she used my favorite color sand - purple!

Company Review: Shiro Cosmetics

2010-06-14T00:08:00.028-04:00

I really love finding new MMU companies. I mean really love it, like get all giddy and excited about trying their products. If I was still five, shopping for MMU would be comparable to a great Toy's R Us trip. Shiro Cosmetics caters to my nineteen year old self, and my inner child. Why, you may ask? Because their current collection, Super Effective, is Pokemon themed. :)

Website:

Shiro's website is easy on the eyes, which is a big plus for me. The text is clear and the website is easy to navigate. Everything is perfectly organized, another huge plus.

"Shiro Cosmetics is independently owned and operated by me, Caitlin. I'm kind of a nerd.
I've always been strongly interested in art, and over the past 5 years or so, I've found myself drawn especially to makeup artistry. Creating my own cosmetics, much like mixing paints, is a way to ensure I'm using precisely what I want in order to create a masterpiece. I'm nothing if not a perfectionist, and I take pride in each and every item I produce and ship. Since I personally handle everything related to this brand, from web maintenance and networking to formulation and production, I can guarantee consistent quality and customer service every step of the way!"

(taken from Shiro's 'About' page. Read more + FAQ here)

Eyeshadows:

There are lots of options to order eye shadows - sample sizes, 'mini' sized (3g jar) and regular (5g jar.) Full sized shadows are $5, the minis are $3 and samples are $1. I went all out and placed an order for the complete set, regular sized. (It was a sad day when I realized I was getting too old for Pokemon.. haha. I love being able to have Pikachu in my 'collection' again, despite that collection now being eye shadows!) The full set was only $60, a whopping 20% off compared to what you'd pay if you ordered them individually. Here's a look at the colors:

They apply very smoothly, and show up great without a primer - two things that I adore with mineral shadows. Caitlin states that she does not repackage on her website, and this is something I can verify 100%. The colors are very unique - my favorite being Pikachu, a bright yellow with red glitter. The Super Effective collection also offers a great selection of bright colors and neutral colors, something you don't always see with a themed collection.

With every order you get free samples. I wasn't expecting any, as it is stated that no samples come with full collections because you're getting every color. It was a great surprise to find three very generous samples of new colors included in my package - thanks Caitlin!
Here are the three colors I received:

Shipping:

Caitlin offers free shipping on all orders over $35. I received an email the day I purchased, with a tracking number and everything. :) That is great service in my opinion.

Customer Service:

As I stated above, the email and tracking number in the same day completely blew me away.
My shadows came in a red organza bag with a personal note attached. I can't stress enough how much I love when companies take the time to write a nice note, or even a thank-you.
I was very impressed with the shadows the day I received them, and tweeted Caitlin to let her know I loved them. While it might not be a huge deal to some, I appreciate that she took the time to reply. Some company owners aren't as involved with their customers as they should be, and I love that Shiro is a company that is.

Overall Rating: 5/5

I'm confident in giving this company a top-rating, and recommending it to anyone that has wanted to try some shades out. Shiro is very impressive for a new MMU company (they just launched in April of this year!) and I cannot wait to see what Caitlin comes up with next!

Top Ten: Reasons I Love Summer!

2010-06-14T00:07:00.021-04:00

Despite the rainy-ness in New Jersey right now, I've been so thankful for summer.
While driving this morning, I was thinking about why summer & I have such a serious love affair going on. Summer isn't rich, not too handsome, nor very charming. (Hellloooo, ninety degree weather + my hair.) No, I came to the conclusion that I love summer for all it's little perks and how it makes me feel... the base of any good relationship. ;)I decided to count down the reasons on here, to start up this blog again and to write a mushy love-letter to my favorite season, summer.

Reason #1 I can finally get a natural tan!
I'll proudly admit that I hate tanning beds. For one, I'm claustrophobic. Two, I've seen Final Destination - enough said. I hate climbing out of the tanning bed, being sweaty, and having to put on my clean clothes. Oh, and the fact that I have to pay for artificial sunlight. That too. Somehow I end up ten times darker from a day in the sun than a week in and out of the bed.

Reason #2 It stays light outside for much, much longer. This might not seem like a huge deal to anyone else, but I love it when it's just getting dark out at 9pm.

Reason #3
My makeup routine is cut in half.
Call me lazy all you want, there's something very satisfying about being able to rub in some tinted moisturizer, dust on some bronzer, add a little eyeliner & gloss and go.

Reason #4
Spontaneous Beach Trips!
I love waking up to texts asking if I want to go down the shore, or even waking up and getting ready. The whole atmosphere is right up my alley.. plus NJ has some great beaches. (Not Sleaze-side.. I find Snookie adorable, but no 'Jersey Shore' recreations, plz.)

Reason #5
Random Barbecues. Not even halfway into spring my S.O. broke out the grill and began his summer steak-eating. While I'm not crazy about steak that much, I do enjoy grilled veggies more than anything. :) It's an added bonus to be able to chill on the deck with a glass of wine after dinner.

Reason #6 Cuter Clothes!Is it just me, or is summer fashion much lighter and more delicate looking? I love being able to toss on a flowy shirt and shorts, and finally being able to wear flip-flops again! Staying comfortable and looking cute is a plus on my list.

Reason #7
Night-time games of man-hunt, and being able to act like a kid in general!
I won't deny it, my best friend & I are still kids at heart. We already have plans to camp out in a field, make s'mores and draw everywhere we can with chalk this summer. Despite job-hunting at the moment, everything just feels more laid back.

Reason #8
Not-so-dry looking skin :)
I have dry skin, which is amplified in the winter. I sometimes carry moisturizer in my bag just in case. Now that it's summer, I can put on a moisturizer with sunscreen and it -gasp- actually keeps my face looking fresh all day.

Reason #9
Summer Scents!
Whether it be perfume, or air freshener, or lotion I feel that a ton of great scents come out in summer. I'm into light, sweet, sometimes fruity scents so this is the perfect time of year to stock up on LE's. I've already retired my go to winter air-freshener (fall harvest) for a new Hawaiian scented one. :)

Reason #10
Summer makeup collections & looks!
C'mon, obviously this was gonna be one of my reasons. I hit my local MAC at 9am when To The Beach came out, no joke. Bronzers and teal liners and shadows have been some of my favorites so far this year. I'm also loving UD's Sin Primer Potion paired with a bit of darker bronze shadow for a smokey bronze look. Plus I can wear all the nude and pink colored lipstick I want without looking dead. ;D

So, now that I've told you alllll the things I love about Summer, tell me
What's your number one favorite thing about Summer?

disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any images featured in this post. All images were taken off google. ;D

NOTD: Milani High-Tech

2010-05-01T14:32:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a good weekend so far!

I know I don't normally post nail looks, but I've been super into nail polish lately.

I have a new camera coming in the mail, so I'm gonna re-do this look just cause my camera wouldn't focus on the actual nail for my life. (Plus the fact I took it five minutes before I had to leave :) My D40 and I haven't been getting along, mainly due to the fact that I haven't had anyone that knows a bit about cameras to help me. I'm not getting another SLR, just replacing my point-&-shoot with a new model - the Canon SD1400is. It's friggin' ORANGE. I was focused on getting the "pink" model, only because it looked more purple in the stock photos. (I guess make up stock photos aren't the only inaccurate pictures around!)

So anyway, onto the photos.. the red spot on my thumb is from other nail polish.. please ignore. :)

(feel free to make them larger, it might help.)

My crappy camera skills, bad cuticles & red thumb smudge (?) aside, this is the best combo of polish I've ever had grace my nails. Luckily, they're both very available & both drug store brands. The base color is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in 'Grass Slipper' (Which I understand is supposed to be a play on 'Glass Slipper' but it honestly just reminds me of 'Engrish' speak. I cannot look at the name without thinking 'Grass Sripper.' Ugh, I'm terrible.. ) On top of that is Milani's 3D Holo polish in High-Tech.
I got two of the 3D Polishes (High-tech & the blue) awhile back, but I read a bad review of them somewhere and never used them. My mistake. These are definitely holo, although I prefer wearing them over another color.

(by the way, the blue 3D (Cyberspace) looks terrible over a dark lavender. Orly's Charged Up in my case.)

In other news, I hate to admit that I'm obsessed with Drake. I've quite possibly listened to 'Say Something' around twenty times in the past hour. I usually have 'Forever (Remix)' on in my car, just because it's such a great mix of artists. (Hate me if you wish, but I swear I will never, ever dislike Kanye.. haha) It was all fun when he first came out and the 'Degrassi' jokes were cracked, but I never expected to enjoy his music this damn much.

&My last bit of news is sort of a question for anyone doing the Zoya Polish Exchange.
I had my wonderful little (ok, huge) list of colors picked out and printed, then I made my way into the UPS store with a box of polishes I wanted to exchange. (USPS doesn't ship polish, correct?) My two-second conversation went something like this...

"Hi, UPS ships nail polish, right?"
"Well, we can. Are they flammable?"
"Err.. yes."
"We can't."

So, all excitement aside, I'm trying to figure out how I send 37 polishes "UPS ground" when UPS won't take them. This might just be stupidity on my part, as I've only shipped one thing in my life. If you've done this before, help would be greatly appreciated :)

I want to know..

Are any of you girls participating in the Zoya Polish Exchange?
What's your favorite nail color for the summer?

- Casey x

4/3 Update.

2010-04-03T11:49:00.003-04:00

I'm still alive.. just cleaning. Intensely.

I've never done 'spring cleaning' before.. just gone on insane cleaning sprees after drinking coffee. :)
If anything, I've realized I truly have too much stuff. (yes, there is such a thing.. sort of.) I was going to sell & donate, but honestly.. I just want to get rid of all of it. So donating it is! Haha.

The worst part of it all is (surprisingly) cleaning out my closet. No, not the Eminem song. The actual act of tearing apart my closet. This might sound strange, but I had a 'reverse' thing going for awhile. I didn't wear anything that was actually in the closet. It got to the point that I just threw everything on top of the shoes that were on the floor of it, and everything eventually piled up almost to my waist. D:
I finally removed all my unworn clothes from 'clothing limbo'.. and am attempting to make my closet more user-friendly. So expect me to be MIA for a few more days.

Some up-coming posts you can expect are:
Aromaleigh in-depth review.
Fyrinnae review. (not as in-depth, as I've only made one sort of large order.)
MAC Trip collection lip bag swatches.
Possibly an E.L.F. week. (I made a decent sized order, I just want to get some use out of everything before forming a solid opinion. So far I'm enjoying it, though.)
More FOTD's
Big Sexy Hair Review (spray & root plumper. spoiler: they work well!)
&Maybe a look into my obsessive MAC lipstick hoarding, trying to find a perfect shade. (there really is no other word for it. I'm still not quite sure if I'm ashamed or proud of everything I've accumulated in the past months.. :)

NEW:
If you wish, you can now follow me on twitter! (@caseykayyy)
I've decided to surrender my personal twitter to my makeup obsession.. Hopefully I'll get some use out of it that way.
&
I've also set up an email address for the blog. (dreamsofneworleans@yahoo.com)
If anyone ever has any questions, feel free to email me there. I'll set it up with my blackberry so I can get updates. :)

I also would really appreciate some suggestions for good mineral makeup companies. I'm pretty positive I'll be placing orders with Hi-Fi and Meow in the next few days.

(And good bronzers as well! I'm on a bronzer/highlighter kick.)

Phew, hopefully you all have had a good, un-stressful week! Happy Easter to all of you celebrating as well!

Survey: 42 Beauty Questions.

2010-03-10T14:02:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone :)

I just placed an order with ACW, MAC and my third Aromaleigh order so far, so expect reviews/posts soon! (I promise I'll have the Aromaleigh review up before the end of the week, it's been gorgeous out here & I've been kind of overwhelmed with all the things I've wanted to do. :( )

Anyway, I got these questions from one of the lovely blogs I follow, The Yummy Mummy's Beauty Blog. (Please do check her blog out, I love it!)

Skincare:

1)How many times do you wash your face daily?
Normally twice, but sometimes I slip up and wind up using a makeup remover cloth at the end of the day. I really hate splashing cold water on my face for some reason so I prefer washing my face in the shower. I know, I'm weird.

2)What skin type do you have?
I'm almost positive I'm normal, but I've been seeing more of the 'dry' side that an Estee Lauder SA pointed out months ago.

3)What is your current facial wash?
An Estee Lauder Foaming Cleanser. I switch it up a lot though, I'm still trying to find my 'holy grail' face wash. I constantly get freaked out that products are going to break my skin out.

4)Do you exfoliate?
Yes, when I remember to..

5)What brand do you use?
Normally the Neutrogena Wave.

6)What moisturiser do you use?
I don't have one at the moment, the Estee Lauder one I purchased feels odd on my skin and I'm not a fan. I've been 'borrowing' my mom's, but that can't be good.. it's anti-aging and I'm only nineteen.

7)Do you have freckles?
Very randomly placed ones, and they're always in pairs of two. I only have one on my face.

8)Do you use eye cream?
No, although I probably should.

9)Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
I do break out from time to time, but my skin is clear for the most part.

10)Did you ever have to use Pro-Activ?
Nawh, although I always wanted it for some reason.

Make-up:

11)What foundation do you use?
MAC N4. Yes, I'm oddly pale. This has been the only foundation I've used for the past year, and I love it.

12)How about concealer?
For my entire face I switch between Rimmel and Covergirl True Match. For under-eyes, I use the Neutrogena twist-up thingy.

13)Do you know your undertone colour?
Honestly, no idea.

14)What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I've only worn them twice - Halloween & prom. I have no issue with them, I just don't feel the need to put them on everyday. They can really complete some looks, though.

15)Did you know you were supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes, but I don't. Probably every 6 months or so. I use way too many at once to keep up.

16)What brand of mascara do you use?
Diorshow, but lately I've been layering Too Faced's Lash Injection ontop of UD's Skyscraper Lashes.

17)Sephora or Mac?
Such a hard choice.. I'd have to go with Sephora, only because they always have something no matter my price range.

18)Do you have a Mac Pro card?
Nawh.

19)What makeup tools do you use in makeup application?
Tons of brushes. I just started using a brush for my foundation and concealer, and I'm so happy with the results. It looks a million times better.

20)Do you use makeup base/primer for the eyes?
Yes, either UD's Primer Potion or TF's Shadow Insurance. I've been trying out my Aromaleigh primer though, and I quite like it so far. :)

21)For the face?
Rarely. I do love Smashbox's Photo Finish primer & BE's Prime Time. Usually I'm doing my looks at night, before going out, so they don't need to stay super-long.

22)What is your favourite eyeshadow?colour or shade?
I buy bright stuff constantly - I just can't seem to 'love' neutral colors. If I had to take a guess, I'd say I have the most purple, blue and green in my collection. They're gorgeous colors to look at, but I rarely wear them.. I've been trying to do brighter looks lately so they can get some use.

23)Do you use pencil or liquid liner?
Neither, I'm loving potted cream liners at the moment. I keep switching between MAC, Stila and L'Oreal's HIP liners.. I feel like you get more control applying with a small brush compared to a pencil.

24)How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
I used to quite a bit. I don't use them much anymore, but I think I've gotten better at it. :p

25)What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
I love them. My MAC pigments kinda chill in my train case at the moment, but the Aromaleigh shadows I've ordered recently have been quite a blessing - they've completely helped my shading. (Which, god knows, needed all the help it could get.)

26)Do you use mineral makeup?
Not foundation, no. I adore mineral eyeshadow though. I do own a few jars of BE, but I find it's super time consuming to put each layer on. (also horrid for touch-ups.)

27)What is your favourite lipstick?
I'm a sucker for nudes and light pinks. MAC's Myth and Hard Candy's Fire Alarm are my favorite lipsticks so far. I have Viva La Glam Gaga on the way, hopefully it'll be a win.

28?How about lipgloss?
I really don't wear it much.. I feel as though it all disappears less than ten minutes after I apply. I own dozens of mini MAC dazzleglasses and what not from the holiday collections that get way less use than they should.

29)What is your favourite blush to use?
I used MAC's 'Dolly' for the winter, but NAR's Orgasm is my go-to favorite.

30)Do you buy your makeup on Ebay?
No, after doing a few quick searches for some MAC products, I never would. I get far too worked up seeing all the counterfeits being sold & wouldn't have the patience to sit and sort through them all.

31)Do you like drugstore makeup?
Yes! I'm actually on the search right now for my perfect drugstore lipstick color - I can't seem to find any good nudes. The only thing I absolutely hate is when you can't see the lipstick color - the labels are almost always off.

32)Do you go to CCO's?Cosmetic Company Outlet?
I'm still waiting to go. It's about an hour away, so hopefully soon.

33)Did you ever consider taking makeup classes?
Yes, I'm actually going to be starting cosmetology school in the fall. I would like to find a school that specializes in makeup though, as I have no interest doing hair and would hate to waste $15k on it.

34)Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Eyeshadow, yes. I always seem to get fall-out..

35)Name a makeup crime that you hate?
Blue eyeshadow/red lip combo. Also when your makeup blatantly doesn't look good with what you're wearing.. great examples of this at the Oscars. (I forget who it was, but she was in a blue/green dress with coral lips. It looked hideous.)

36)Do you like colourful shades of makeup (lipstick or eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
The more color the better when it comes to my eyes. I do enjoy neutral shades of lipstick though, I don't think I could pull off anything else.

37)Which celebrity always has great makeup?
Kim and Khloe Kardashian.

38)If you could leave the house using just ONE makeup item, what would you use?
Eyeliner or foundation.. depends on how my skin is looking that day. :)

39)Could you leave the house without any makeup on?
I do that quite often, actually.

40)Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
No, not at all. I may think I look good (or at least decent) but as soon as a photo is taken I'm like OHMYGOSH get me to my makeup bag.

41)In your opinion what is the BEST makeup line?
Such a tough choice. I have way too many favorites sprawled out across many makeup lines, so I'm not going to choose.

42)What do you think of makeup?
I absolutely LOVE it. I'm going to sound like a crazy, but I have just sat around and swatched things from my collection for fun. I love the excited feeling I get when I place an order or pick up some more products at the mall.

xCaseyAimee

FOTD: Warm Weather Inspired.

2010-03-07T22:05:00.010-05:00

Hey everyone :)

So, for those of us in New Jersey, it's been insanely warm. Errr.. well, for winter anyway. (56 I think.) I can't wait for summer to get here. Hell, I can't even wait for spring to officially get here so I decided to do a look inspired by warmer weather. I also wanted to try out my Aromaleigh eye shadows & primer.

(of course, i need to take at least one silly picture. :)

Face:
MAC Studio Fix Powder
Covergirl True Match Concealer
Neutrogena Under-eye Concealer
Lancome Magique Blush Subtle Fluff

Eyes:
Aromaleigh primer.
Aromaleigh Bluespark (crease)
Aromaleigh Estranged (right below the highlight, I used a HIP pigment for the highlight)
Aromaleigh Greenhell (lid)
Aromaleigh Ozone (lid)
HIP Liner in Brown
Too Faced/Urban Decay mascara
Wet'n'Wild Liner in White

Lips:
MAC Baby Sparks gloss
Hard Candy Fire Alarm lipstick (my HG nude lip)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

FOTD: Gold Winged Look

2010-03-01T20:14:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone! :)

So, the other night my S.O. was working, and my best friend had college work to do, and I turned to my supply of makeup to occupy my time. (I've been really inspired lately, &I'm loving that!) This wasn't exactly a 'FOTD', as I did it at night.. but you guys get the point!

(the mascara didn't come out to my liking, but I'm satisfied with the overall look :)

Face:
MAC Studio Fix Powder
L'Oreal True Match Concealer

Eyes:
UDPP
TKB POP (yellow)
L'Oreal HIP Pigment (bronze color)
(completely drawing a blank on the brow highlight & lid color names. :( I'm going to write this all down next time, promise.)
Dior Diorshow Mascara
MAC Black fluidline

Lips:
Two MAC lipglasses*

In other news, I've been on a massive online-shopping haul. In the past week I've ordered from Aromaleigh, Hot Miami Syles, Haute Look, the Konad Nail System, and placed another Aromaleigh order today. Tomorrow I hope to place a Fyrinnae & TKB order and be done! (I'm still debating on purchasing the Sigma brushes.. I don't know if I want to spend that much.)

I did recieve my HotMiamiSyles & Aromaleigh packages today, so expect a review&swatches for Aromaleigh and some photos of my clothing from HMS.

Hope you're all having a great week so far! What have you all ordered recently?

*I'm not entirely sure of the names, just the brand.(plus I'm being lazy and just wanted to get this posted.) If you want the names just let me know, I'll be more than happy to tell you. :)

Happy (Early) Birthday To Me :)

2010-02-03T16:41:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone!

So, on Saturday I'll be turning nineteen. Not too exciting, in all honesty. But!.. I wanted to share some swatches of Sephora's Beauty Insider birthday gift. I purchased their fragrance sampler for my significant other for Christmas, and he finally decided on which full-size cologne to trade the voucher in for. I took the opportunity to cash in my card as well while we were there.

In all honesty, from looking at the picture I expected the products to be large, if not full-sized. They're rather tiny, but I'm not complaining - for one, it's free.. and two, no one was going to get me makeup for my birthday anyway, so it was a nice little treat. (Apparently according to everyone I know, I have 'too much' makeup.... to which I say a girl can never have enough makeup! :)

So, here are the pictures:

All the products together :) (mini mascara, eyeshadow & eyeliner.)

Close-up on the shadow.

Swatched. The shadow is Aspen Summit and the liner is Silver Green.

All in all, pretty cute. :) I was happy that the gifts were eye products, because those are probably my favorite kinds of makeup to buy & receive. (It's the artist in me that adores all the colors.)

Also, happy birthday to my most stylish friend - Anna "Bananas". She's also celebrating on Saturday. She's kind of held me together throughout a very hectic year I had in 2009, and I'm extremely grateful. :) I really think she needs her own blog for beauty or fashion, or even both.. she's great with all this stuff. (Plus, she's extremely funny.) She always accompanies me on trips to the mall to check out all the makeup/clothing/purses we're dying to get. Hopefully I can have her do a review on here eventually! Love you, Anna! :)

Hope you're all having a great week, and happy birthday to all the other Aquarius's celebrating this month. :)

Haul: CVS & Walmart

2010-01-23T19:55:00.003-05:00

So, I recently heard rave reviews about the Neutrogena Wave and I just had to try it out. My mum agreed to cart me over to Walmart, because I figured it would be cheapest there. (I'm still car-less, it went into the shop a week or two ago. And the wave wasn't much cheaper, btdubz.) So I found it, and was instantly excited because they had it in orange. The website said the smaller one was only available in pink, and the Duo (which I now own) was only in teal.. but there would be limited edition colors. I don't know why I'm so excited about this, but I am. :) (I can only imagine my reaction if I found it in purple.. eeesshhh.)

Moving on, I then proceeded to skim over every isle of makeup there. I wound up with a lot more than I needed, let's just say. Do I ever regret makeup purchases though? (well.. the Per'Fekt products from Sephora are another story, for another blog post.)

So, I thought I was done. Mum and I got coffee, and on the way home I started telling her about the huge CVS sale going on right now, and asked if she would take me tomorrow. Since CVS is only a town over, she said we might as well go tonight. (She doesn't really care much for makeup, or CVS for that matter. But she supports things I get super excited over, I guess.) Thankfully, my second haul wasn't as damaging as the first. I found so much, so it was deffinitely worth it. And saving $70? Extra plus.

I'll make a post about my CVS haul as soon as I get some swatches and photos of the products.

Have any of you hit up your local CVS yet? Any good finds? (:

FOTD: Deep Blue

2010-01-19T21:38:00.006-05:00

Oh haiii there!
So, I decided to play around with my makeup today seeing as I was already doing my hair 'for fun'. Then I took some 'before & after' pictures, which was kind of interesting.. I might keep up with that in the future.
(Also, I've been lacking a 'real camera' picture where I look decent, so I needed something to replace the crap webcam pictures I have up.)

I'm still getting the hang of blending.. I'm not too good at it, so please bear with me.. haha. I might as well post the 'before' picture, as terrifying as it is, just to show the difference. eeesshhh. :)

(all the following images were taken with a NikonD40, which really doesn't get enough use from me.)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Yussss, that is my 'face of the day' or, erm, night.

FACE:
BE mineral veil.
BE foundation in Light.
BE Prime Time primer.

EYES:
Stila smudgepot in black.
L'Oreal HIP pigment in Beckoning.
Dior Holiday Palette (lightest shade.)
MAC eyeshadow in Carbon.
Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

LIPS:
NARS lip pencil in Roman Holiday.
Smashbox Enhancing Gloss. (center of bottom lip.)
Too Faced lipstick in Free Love.

Survey: The Products I Love Right Now :)

2010-01-14T23:16:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates.. things got hectic, I left the college I was at and am not going back until the fall. I'll also be attending cosmetology school then. I really have no excuse, as I've been home a lot lately. Plus my car is in the shop, so I'm kind of stranded. Haha. I'll hopefully have some reviews up soon.. I have way too much to review.

I'm currently digging around my half-cleaned room because I 'misplaced' about $150 of Estee Lauder face care stuff. Out of the four products, I've found two -makeup remover and moisturizer- in one of my unpacked college bags. I'm missing a huge pink bottle of toner and a tube of foaming cleanser. It figures that the one time I actually want to give them a try again, I loose them. haha.

Anyway, I saw this on a few people's blogs, and finally decided to fill it out.
(I added a few other things in, of course.)

Shampoo: Herbal Essence Volumizing (in the orange bottle.) It really doesn't do much for my crap hair.. but I'm trying to use up the economy-size I bought for college.

Conditioner: Same as above. I have way less of this left then the shampoo though.. I hate how that happens.

Shower gel: Some type of tropical Tone I found at the CVS by campus. It's nice-smelling, vanilla and some type of flower, I can't remember the name though.

Styling products: I rarely put product in my hair.. I have very, very super thin hair and it gets greasy so fast. If anything, I use the Herbal Essence Volumizing hairspray (not that great, but nothing works anyway.) I can't get enough of Got2B's 'Fat-tastic' though, it's the only thing that gives my hair the bit of body that it can achieve.

Body moisturiser: I haven't been using one lately. :/ I really need to though.. my skin gets horrible in the winter.

Deodorant: Dove Cucumber & green tea. It's a fresh scent, very clean.

Fake Tan: No more fake tans for me. :)
Once upon a time, when I still had money to waste, I bought an 'unlimited' month of tanning for around $50. I thought it was great, my friend and I got to use the highest level beds, got our tanning lotions free because of the purchase.. Life was great. Then she started getting darker, and I could barely notice the heart sticker I placed on my stomach to gauge my tan every time we went. Then, after a week or two, I turned into a lobster and stopped going. The end. (shitty story, i know :)

Primer: Well, I have lip, eye and face.. so here they are:
Face: I can't get enough of that Bare Escentuals primer that came with the 'Get Started' kit. (Prime Time?) It goes on nice, my foundation stays put, all is well. Then somehow I acquired a mini Smashbox Photofinish Primer, started using that, and I love it as well. I'm really dying to try the Hard Candy one, though.
Lips: DuWop Prime Venom. Let me just make it clear, none of the 'venom' products work too well for me. I like them, but they don't fix my lips. I still use Prime Venom because it's kind of like a hard chapstick, without being all melty. (if that makes any sense at all.. ) It fills in the lips and smooths, so the lipstick goes on nicely. I only own the sample size, from one of Sephora's Holiday Favorites kits, so I try not to use it all up.
Eye: You know what I'm about to say. All together now... Urban. Decay. Primer. Potion! This stuff is magic in a bottle. (a cute bottle, even when you have to cut it open to get to the remaining product.) I've been alternating between this and Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but UDPP has been in my trusty (aka, lazy) makeup bag, so it's gotten more use.

Foundation: Back to my MAC Studio Fix, I'm once again pale enough to wear it. :)
This one is a throwback, my first MAC product ever.

Powder: Just Too Faced Candlelight powder, when I'm going out and not wearing blush. (I feel like it would be a sparkle-overload on my face if I did that.) It looks super sparkly in the compact, but it gives me such a nice glow. I'll admit, it was a major impulse buy on black friday, but I love it now.

Concealer: Bobbi Brown, when needed. It's usually too dark for me, though. I also picked up a Hard Candy concealer palette, but in my excitement I grabbed the dark shades.. Don't ask. haha.

Blush: MAC Dainty, only because it's been conveniently in my make-up bag for the past few months.
(I really did think getting a train case would make things easier.. I could keep all my good makeup in there, and my decent makeup on my dresser, ect. Instead, I'm using what's in my makeup bag and on my dresser far more than anything else.)
I usually stick to NARS Orgasm or Deep Throat, but Dainty gives me that nice 'cold weather' flush, which looks appropriate for winter. haha.

Bronzer: I'm honestly afraid to use bronzer, as I am from New Jersey. (hopefully you can see where I'm going with this..) I am dying to try out my Lorac TAN-Talizer though - But I'll probably wait until the summer, and until I'm a bit darker. I've heard Too-Faced Snow Bunny is pretty light, so maybe I'll give it a go tomorrow.

Highlighter: none, for now. I really don't know how to "properly" apply this yet, and I'm not interested enough to look it up. bleh.
I purchased a discount book from Barnes and Noble on how to completely transform your face a few weeks ago, hoping for a good highlighting lesson. It talks about a lot of 'special occasion' looks, but everything is so subtle that the women just look like they have an airbrushed face. If anyone knows of any good books that teach more dramatic makeup techniques, let me know!

Eyeliner: There's three that I regularly use, and that have a special place in the makeup section of my heart. :)
First is Urban Decay's 24/7 liner. I use Zero (black) but all the colors are so nice. This is by far the smoothest pencil application I've experienced.
Second comes MAC's Fluidline in Black Track. I got this with one of the holiday eye kits. (yes, I'm a kit whore.) Goes on smooth, stays put, no complaints! For some reason I also adore the face that it's in a little glass pot.
Annndd.. Third, L'Oreal's HIP Color Truth Creme Eyeliner. This is basically the same as MAC's, although the brush MAC provided was much better for the application. But yay, glass pot! I'm in love with this entire line. Some of the HIP items are pricey for drug store makeup, but well worth it.

Eyeshadows: I've been rotating between Smashbox's 'Pronto' and 'ASAP', again because they've been sitting in my make-up bag and I've been lazy :)
I don't know if anyone else had hit up Ulta on black friday, but they had these little Smashbox sets for $10 a piece, and that's where I got them. (Full size, though.) I love love loveeee these! I discovered them in Sephora's Glitz&Glam favorite set, and I've been hooked. Everything about them is great, they have sleek packaging and the eyeshadow is so soft to the touch and insanely pigmented.

Mascara: I've been layering Urban Decay's Sky Scraper on top of Too Faced Lash Injection, and it works wonders. If you like your lashes huge like I do, deff give it a try.

Lipstick: I haven't been wearing much, honestly. Hard Candy's Fire Alarm is still my go-to when I need some color on my lips.

Lip Liner: NARS. Hands down, NARS. They're creamy, built like giant crayons, and have restored my faith in wearing lip liner. Plus they come in a ton of colors.

Lipgloss: Lancome Juicy Tube in Simmer. A pretty, shiny pink.

Chapstick: Burts Bee's, and Blistex Lip Massage. My lips were badly chapped, and rotating between these two has brought them back to normal in no time. :)

Nail colour: A nude color. I found it in the bathroom, not sure if it's my mum's or mine that she took. I don't know the name though.

Scent: D'Armani Idole and Body by Victoria. I love them both, Body is a very clean scent and Idole is kind of floral.

Sorry for the paragraphs, I could talk all day about makeup products. :)

Swatches: MAC Holiday 2009

2009-11-06T20:53:00.022-05:00

Here are pictures & swatches of all the MAC sets available as of November 5th. I really liked them - they have great colors, plus the price is awesome for all the colors you get to try. (Glosses & Pigments are swatched in the same order as the pictures of the tubes. WARNING: Pic Heavy!)

Models Misbehaving:

(Angel Wing, Instant Gold, Magnetique, Pinkular, Gitane)

Frisky Business:

(Beaute, Silly Girl, Totally It, Wonderstruck, Pinkarat)

Sexy Shenanigans:

(Poetic License, Cruise Control, Ensign, Morning Glory, Elle)

Sexpot:

(Reflects Antique Gold, Dark Soul, Naked, Chocolate Brown, Sunnydaze)

Haute High Jinks:

(Jordin Aires, Reflects Gold, Museum Bronze, Rushmetal, Copperized)

Cool Capers:

(Grape, Fuchsia, Deep Blue Green, Kitschmas, Reflects Transparent Teal)

Whew. Glad that's out of the way. I apologize for the dark images, I don't have a program on my laptop to clean those up yet. Andddd.. For the record - my arm hair is blonde, and I couldn't even begin to explain how my cameras flash worked. All I know is that the colors are true-to-life, and that's all that matters to me. :) (couldn't do the swatches on my inner wrist - it's swollen and covered by a tattoo.)

My favorite sets have to be Cool Capers and Sexy Shenanigans.

Have you picked up the MAC sets yet? Which ones are your favorites?

Brushes, Splurges, Tattoo's.

2009-11-04T13:07:00.001-05:00

Hey thereee. K, so no camera. But! I'm bringing you pictures actually taken by me. Crappy cell-phone images, but you get the point. I also didn't want the generic template on my blog anymore, so ignore any messy-looking HTML at the moment.. I'm working on it.

To start off, those amazing purple brushes came in :) I haven't used them yet, but I don't want them to sit there for show. I just can't make up my mind. The picture doesn't do them justice. If you're a purple addict like I am, go stop by your local Lancome counter. Plus they come in a cute clutch-like holder, with extra room for other makeup.

And then.. I got some shoes. I always forget the name of this store, but they carry brands such as Wild Pair and the SA's are so friendly. I'd say the pricing is usually around $70-80 a pair, but they have great sales. I splurged a little. Considering I have three pairs of Uggs and recently purchased black high-heeled boots, there was no need. But I talked myself into it, thinking how cute they'd look with different outfits and how I don't own a pair of ankle boots. Anyway, I'm sure you'll see my reasoning.

I'm also going to get my tattoo finished today, by the lovely artist I went to last time. (I got lucky taking a chance by going to the tattoo shop in the mall, and paid a mere $53 for a wonderful Koi fish on my wrist. Today I'm getting cherry blossoms and a light blue 'water' fade around it.)
(WARNING: this is a horrible blurry-webcam pic. It looks so much better in person.)

I was going to wear my splurge-shoes, but forget it. Me, getting off a bus in over 5" heels? Forget that. You're looking at the girl who broke her ankle rollerblading - two hours into the party, not because I wasn't being careful.. but because I fell on it the wrong way. So instead I'll look like a hot mess in my sheer black tights, black Express tunic, tan waist-belt and tan uggs. Doesn't sound bad? My boyfriend's orange hoodie is topping it off. :)

(P.S. - I DO have a car. A very pretty red Tiburon Tuscani edition. Unfortunately my college thinks as a wee-little freshmen I cannot drive, so I have to take NJ Transit everywhere. I think my college can suck it.)

*that would be my baby.

Review: Hard Candy For Walmart

2009-10-30T18:03:00.002-04:00

Ah, Hard Candy. May I ask.. what happened?

I haven't been a die-hard fan of this brand, and am fairly new to it. I stumbled upon the cute little Eye Candy singles at Marshall's one day over the summer, along with some gloss. Yes, I had heard of Hard Candy before - I owned a few palettes purchased at Five Below (which I expected nothing from, they were simply cute and I'm not a fan of palettes to begin with.) But that wasn't what led me to purchase the adorable little compacts. Nope. Flashback to middle school, the rebellious girl I sat next to on the bus, otherwise known as my friend Cat, always (and I mean ALWAYS) had these in her backpack. Jealous isn't even a good enough word to describe what I felt when she pulled out the then-expensive eye shadows. Anyway, I couldn't believe my eyes when they were sitting right in front of me in the last place I would expect to find good makeup. I decided I needed one of each package color, found the shades I liked best, and put the others back. (Ok, so I admit - I got two with the blue colored packaging. I couldn't make up my mind, both colors were awesome.) The gloss was alright, nothing too intense, but I loved the shadows! The shimmery white color I got was such a perfect highlighter for when I wanted something extreme. They weren't too glittery or gritty - they were just right.

So, as you can see, this is what lead me to getting terribly excited when I heard they would be arriving at Walmart. Great, I thought, they're gonna be low priced and good quality!

Well.. I guess they're low priced. I know I wouldn't pay the six bucks again for some of the items I purchased. The quality isn't bad, but with that said it's not consistent in all of the products. I give them an A+ for packaging though, because my god, these are cute.

Anyway, let's check them out!

Eye Candy Creme Eyeshadow: $5
Of course I flocked to these old-time favorites first. I even opened them last as I tested every product I purchased. I have to admit - I'm extremely disappointed. I purchased Pixie (which is pink glitter.) and Queenie (purple glitter.) And that's pretty much all they are - glitter. Glitter in a clear paste passed off as creme. I feel as though I spent six dollars on body glitter. They came with mini eye liner pencils as well. Once again, not impressed. I feel like I've seen these before somewhere, maybe in that play make-up kit I got when I was seven. At least they actually have a color base, though, unlike the 'creme eyeshadow'. The pink liner shows more glitter than the purple, but they're rough to put on. (Maybe it's just me.. maybe I'm just pampered by my UD 24/7 eyeliner.) Will I buy again? No. (As badly as I want to try out the green one, I'll pass.) The tiny mirror on the back of the compact kind of helps though.

Painted Lady Lipstick: $6
If you now hate me for what I said above, maybe this will make it better. (Unless you felt the same way I did about the Eye Candy, to which I say RIGHT ON!) I picked up not one, not two, not even three of these lipsticks, but FOUR! Word to the wise: If you decide to make a trip to Walmart to try this collection, bring your willpower. I repeat, bring. your. willpower. The packaging of the lipstick is ADORABLE and anyone who is addicted to cute make-up like I am will not be able to control themselves. It's a white tube with a clear cap and a cute pink ribbon trailing off the end (which makes it so much easier to find in your bag!) Don't get me started on the design on the actual tube. There are SO MANY to choose from and it was hard to even limit myself to four. (The biggest disappointment was when I liked a design but not the color inside - which was ok at times, because some designs have two colors available.) The colors/designs I chose were On The Prowl (a pinkish red with dice, flames and nautical stars on the packaging), Kitten (the actual red in the bunch, with an old school cherries and sparrows), Flirt (a frosty light pink with a pink/black design of roses, stars and shoes on the tube), and finally, my favorite, Fire Alarm (a nude pink color, with a purple/black/yellow suit of arms on the outside.) Fire Alarm is my favorite because I love a nude-lip look. I love this color so much that it will probably be a staple in my lipstick collection. (Unfortunately, when I got in the car the other day my significant other pointed out the fact that I looked like a zombie. I'm not sure whether or not to take this as a compliment, because he is a huge fan of anything 'zombie'.) Overall, there's minimum glitter in these (a huge relief after the eye candy incident) but as great as the color payout is, it didn't last long. Maybe some sort of lip primer would help.

Intensif-eye Shadow Stick: $6
Let me start off by saying that I have a love/hate relationship with these so far. This was one of the first products I grabbed, mainly because I saw the lime-green packaging on Pop and was captivated. You know, when you're so overwhelmed and excited that your brain just shuts down and you do stupid things like purchase three really crap eye shadow sticks? Yeah. That was me.
The design is cute. The tube is the color of the product inside (ha, so you think!) with a raised tattoo-inspired black design of vines and sparrows. I got two of the 'radiant' version and one of the 'metallic'. I really have an issue with the way these are applied - they're a twist-up stick, kind of like a skinny lipstick. They are also slanted in the way a skinny tube of lipstick is. One swipe and you get the color consistency you would get with -gasp!- a skinny tube of lipstick or gloss. If you really keep applying, the color eventually gets to the shade the tube is. Ok, well, almost the shade the tube is. It's very glossy for eyeshadow though. The colors I purchased were Pop (that bright lime-green), Moody (a gorgeous baby blue color), and Ecstasy (metallic 'bronze', although it seems more like orange.) Ecstasy had the best color pay out, and was the least glossy of the three. Pop and Moody seriously brought back horrible memories of the mood-changing lipstick my mother (stupidly) let me purchase as a child.
Anyway, if anyone's purchased any other shades and they've worked, uh, a bit better.. let me know.

Kal-eye-descope Baked Shadow Duo: $6
I'll admit, I hated this at first. I quickly swiped the product and saw little color payout, then tossed it aside. A day later I saw it staring back at me, in all it's purple-y goodness and knew I wasn't ready to give up on it. I opened it up again and swatched both colors.. and WOW. This was intensely pigmented. What the hell was I looking at before? It's got shimmer, but no glitter, and it's intense. Exactly what I want in an eyeshadow. I got the duo in Daydream, a shimmering combination of lavender and silver. I didn't think I could love this shadow any more than I did, but after trying it on wet, I was wrong. Gorgeous color payout and excellent colors. I will definitely be purchasing more of these.

Split Personality Eyeshadow Duo: $7
Hard Candy promises fifty uses per side. That is enough for a lifetime, seeing as it is so damn hard to get it out of the cap it's 'pressed' into. Surprisingly, I have zero complaint about the product. After jamming the small end of the scissors into the cap to get to the shadow, the color payout was great. It went on smooth and almost like a creme. Oh no, my issue is with the packaging. Scissors are not a normal part of my make-up routine. I cannot pull them out of my bag, on the go, and rummage around this little cap of pressed down eyeshadow with them until I have enough to cover my lids. I can't even blame Hard Candy here. The idea was awesome - the shadow wasn't potted so it couldn't fall and break, it was pigmented and of good quality, a stick takes up less room than a potted shadow, ect. But unfortunately, the final product was not so awesome. I also just realized I picked it up in purple and silver, similar to my baked duo. For seven dollars, this is the product that is least worth it. Go pick up a lipstick or eyeshadow duo and save the extra dollar.

Even though some of the products didn't pay up, this is a cute line, and you'll find some diamonds among the dirt. Also, I applaud Hard Candy on their label stating "We love our animal friends. We don't test our products on them." A great reason to stick with their line.

VIB?!

2009-10-28T21:55:00.000-04:00

I really have no need to update this again tonight, seeing as my current camera situation which means I can't provide all of you lovely people with swatches.

but.. I just logged into Sephora, to look at that cool little log of what I've purchased, and lo-and-behold, I'M A BEAUTY VIB?!

Oh, I've been waiting. You have no idea. I'm sure you guys know the perks already, so I'll save you a paragraph of what sounds like intense bragging but is actually just me being insanely excited. :)

Getting There.

2009-10-28T19:57:00.000-04:00

So, I found my camera. Unfortunately, while at home I decided to 'take a nap' and forgot to throw the cable in my bag as I left. Friday will be the day. -sigh-

But before I forget, while on my haul I stopped in at my local Lord&Taylor. Before I purchased a ton of products I don't need for my semi-clear skin, (ugh, SA talked me into it - which I'll tell you about when I review the Estee Lauder products.) So, anyway, off track... Before I made that ridiculous skin product purchase, I stopped at Lancome. They are not really my favorite brand. Ok, they are not my favorite brand at all.

Buttttttt... I wanted free gifts. And they seemed to have the only actual 'free' one. (I feel as though I should be receiving TWO of Estee Lauder's "free (actually-$29-with-purchase) gifts" for the amount I spent.) My hopes weren't high.. what in the world would I spend $32.50 on to qualify for this free gift? And then... I saw them. A set of brushes. No, not just any brushes. Purple brushes. They had a steep price tag of $59, and I hesitated. (No, I didn't actually hesitate. Before the SA could even tell me the price my card was practically being forced across the glass counter, with a possessed look in my eye.) In time you will learn that I am a sucker for anything a.) purple and b.) in cute packaging. This set was both.

(Move over, regular brushes! These are purple!)

Unfortunately the free gift was not in yet, so I was given a number and will be picking it up on November 3rd. (Along with my wonderfulamazingawesome brushes!)

Hi! & HAUL!

2009-10-27T22:30:00.000-04:00

Oh hayyy! :)

I'm guessing you somehow stumbled upon my sad excuse for the beginnings of a make-up/beauty blog. Don't worry, I'll have this up and running in no time! ("No time" being about a day or two.)

So.. uh.. yeah.
I'm Casey. I'm eighteen years old and a freshmen at a rather sucky New Jersey college. Yes, I was born and raised here. No, I am not Italian/orange/petite. My hair is not huge and I am plastic-surgery free. (Although at some times I'd love to get it.) Stereotypes out of the way, I'd say I'm sort of average. I recently re-discovered my love for make-up after a rather large haul at Sephora. I'm certainly no expert - I don't have a favorite brush, nor do i know my perfect N3940534654 skin tone. I've been playing around with makeup for ages, mainly trying on whatever I found in the bathroom as a kid. (Although I was still terrified to try a red lip as a child.) I'm basically just here to review different products.. if I help you out in the long run, that's a plus :) Everything posted is only my opinion, and you're more than welcome to disagree. This blog isn't going to be for just drugstore makeup, or just high-end makeup. (I find that I fall in between those two categories, depending on the money I have to spend.)

So without further ado, here's my latest haul*, and some things you should expect to see reviewed on here. :D
- Estee Lauder:
Daywear Plus
Perfectly Clean
Take It Away
Soft Clean

- Clairins:
Bright Plus HP (sample.)

- MAC:
Alakazam! Chocolate Eye Bag
Pinkzapoppin! Mineralize Kit

- Stila
Color Collection & Clutch
Smudge Pot Collection
Kitten Collection

- Chanel
Le Crayon Yeux (in brown)
Mystic Eyes palette
Glossimer in beige guitare
lipshine lipstick in (87) Formentera

- MUFE
10 color palette
Diamond shadow in 309, 312, & 310

- NARS
Deep Throat blush

- Kat Von D
BI palette (that 500pt thing.)

- Urban Decay
Hi-fi 24/7 pencil kit
24/7 super stash

- Too Faced
queen for a day bag

- Sephora
My 1st makeup kit

I'd start my reviews now, but it is 1:40AM and the only camera I have with me is my Nikon D40, which i have yet to master. :(

*Before you ask, NO I am NOT rich. This was pretty much a shopping spree (in four hours) with money I probably shouldn't have spent. Also, there was a previous haul before this one that you'll be seeing a lot of items from.