Live Loud!- Day 10... Double Purple Durple, ya'll

Hello dear readers.

Alas! It is the final day of Live Loud! week. There were so many other I could have posted, but i'll just have to be patient and save them for later :P There are other things I want to move on to.

But before that, we have tonight's polishes. Yep, polishes. I disliked one so much I decided to just throw it in with my final post; it was undeserving of it's own O_o

First the ugly duckling- 'Flying Dragon':

I posted this before, long ago in the infancy of my blog. I decided to give it a go again & see if it'd feel any differently... :@

NOPE, STILL SUCKS.

This is (for some reason) dubbed a neon... WHY, China Glaze? It's not even bright once on the nails, though it facetiously looks like it would be. argh.

'Flying Dragon' is a purple neon with pink and blue microglitter Sounds like it would be awesome... just looks like poo. At least in my humble opinion :o

Next up is probably my 3rd favorite out of all the ones i've featured this past week or so,

'Purple Panic'!

This is a fantastic purple-magenta neon with slight violet shimmer. It's awesome! It actually was not as sheer/runny as many of the other neons/brights i've tried.  It was definitely opaque with 2 coats. It dried matte, of course, so I used 2 coats of SV afterwards.

My only bone to pick with this polish is that it chipped really quickly :/ But it's still worth it :)

What do you guys think?

What has your favorite polish been from Live Loud! week?

Thanks for stickin' with me!

:D

Live Loud!- Day 9

Helloooo.

Just one or two more days of Live Loud! week. I've got so many ideas for themes for posts that I don't know which to do first...

Anyway,

onto tonight's polish!

CG's 'Rose Among Thorns'

So I know this looks like a typical bright red, but it's not (the 2nd picture is more accurate than the first, colorwise). 'Rose Among Thorns' is a neon red with a subtle hint of warm pink to it. Though as you can see, in direct sunlight it looks like a fancy, sexy red. Either way, I love it. It did go on a bit sheer, so 3 coats are needed for opacity. My favorite color is red, and seeing that this was a neon, I couldn't resist this in Sally's the other day. So vibrant.

That's it for tonight, guys!

Thanks for reading!

OH,

and don't forget to 'like' my fb page using the facbook button in the top right hand corner of my page!!

:))

Live Loud!- Day 8

Hellooooo.

Back to nail polish tonight,

 and it's arguably my favorite (other than 'Flip Flop Fantasy).

China Glaze's 'Pink Voltage'!

'Pink Voltage' is a Pepto Bismol, neon pink with slight light purple shimmer. It's UH-MAZING. Totally a girly girl color that's bright and loud and happy and just... awesome :)

It dried matte, but it was a different looking matte than the others i've tried lately, for some reason.  After a coat of SV, it was kind of glossy but velvety at the same time... i was hoping you could see it in my photos, but I don't know how well it translated.

Anyway, i'm in love with this color.

Perfect for summer.

Do any of you have this?

Live Loud!- Day 7- switchin' it up!!

SHAGMASFMASGKSGKAG

I'm done with this semester!

hoorah :D

I also wanted to take a quick break from nail polishes this week to go back to my first love- eye shadow :) I decided to only do one makeup look for this live loud series, but I HAD to go ahead and try my new Lime Crime :))

When trying to come up with a name for this look, it got me thinking about yet another themed series I can do & I  CAN'T WAIT to start that-- but alas, i must. So this look can serve as a preview of that, i suppose.

I've dubbed this- Sunstone!

*inside, with flash

*fluorescent light, no flash

*daylight, no flash

So I know this might call to mind the recent 'Fire' look I did, but I really wanted to use 'Circus Girl' and 'Siren' together because I just absolutely love the combo. Though you can't really see it, I also used a lime green shadow from Covergirl under my lower lash line... it just really pales in comparison to Lime Crime :/

I like this, and though it may be a bit hard to see in these pictures, it's definitely one of the boldest looks i've done so far. Blending is something i'm still having to work on, though. It's much harder to blend with loose shadows than compact, so that'll take some practice :c (Any advice/suggestions on this would be welcome!!)

I used:

Too Faced's Shadow Insurance

LC's 'Mirror Mirror' on inner lids

LC's 'Circus Girl' on middle of lid

LC's 'Siren' on outer corners/crease 

Urban Decay's 'Rockstar' on crease

Urban Decays 'Skimp' on brow bone

Too Faced's Lasgasm mascara

Covergirl's Line Excact liquid Eyeliner

So tada! Definitely loud, and a nice break from nails :)

What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading & have a great night!!

Live Loud!- Day 6

Woo!

Pretty stoked, because I ordered my first Deborah Lippmann polish today! Also, the owner of the shop where I bought some indie polishes recently contacted me, apologizing that they haven't been shipped yet- so she's sticking some freebies in :P SO EXCITED.

Hopefully they get here before next friday, since i'll be gone for a week :/

Anyway,

on to tonight's polish!

China Glaze's 'Blue Sparrow ' :

I understand this polish isn't a neon in the classic sense (though China Glaze markets it as one) but it IS bright, and since most of my colors are in the orange/pink range, I figured this would be a nice change of course.

'Blue Sparrow' is a royal blue neon with light blue micro glitter. It dried matte, of course, so the above pics are with Sv after 3 coats.

I'm undecided on this polish. The color is really pretty, but the finish was not at all what I expected or liked. Firstly, the consistency was SUPER thin- quite possibly one of the thinnest i've ever tried. After drying, it was oddly gritty for having such small glitter. After a coat of Sv it looked better, but I was still feeling blah about it.

My biggest issue- it chipped in HOURS. Now, i can definitely be rough on my hands, but I went right to bed after I applied this and then woke up with it chipped (you can see it some in the photos). Pretty gay.

So, I added a quick stamp,

and this made me like the mani a little better. Here I used plate BM10 with Konad special polish in white.

All in all, this polish was a bit disappointing, despite it's rich color- which IS fabulous. That's about it, though, in my opinion.

What do you think?

Do you have this?

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Live Loud!- Day 5

HOORAY!

I'm all but done with this semester. I've got two more little assignments to do, but the heavy stuff is out of the way. That being said, I think my brain has finally stopped operating in hyperdrive, and i'm barely able to keep my eyes open as I type this- so quick post tonight.

Tonight I have 'Dream On' for you.

This polish is a super bright fushia-purple creme... in the bottle. Once on my nails, it wasn't anywhere near as bright, which was disappointing :( You can see the difference in this next picture.

Like all other brights/neons i've tried, this dried matte. However, it's consistency was MUCH better, despite still being a little sheer. I was really excited when I found this the other day, but it just looks nothing like I thought it would :/ Not that exciting to me, in the end, Though I will say, I think it would have been much more appealing to me if my nails were longer... but oh well.

That's it for tonight!

I'm going to sleep forever.

:D

Thanks for reading!

today's haul and bikini time for Live Loud!- Day 4

GOOD EVENING.

I'm halfway through the last week of this semester!

yessssssss.

... of course I'm taking 5 summer classes this summer, but at least I get like a week break in between now and my maymester class O_o.

Lots to show you tonight!

First- my little haul from walmart today:

Woo!

I'm thinking about maybe using the Revlon's for a giveaway- what do you think??!

I've also never tried the Maybelline polishes, so that'll be something new. Plus i actually bought eyeshadow that's not considered a prestige cosmetic for the first time in forever, but I couldn't resist that lovely, lime-y green :) We'll see how it turns out.

Now onto tonight's little bright beauty- CG's 'Yellow Polka Dot Bikini'!

Though it looked more like a bright sunshine yellow online (which is where I bought it), this polish is legit neon, highlighter yellow (think Essie's 'Funky Limelight'). It's part of CG's 'Poolside' Collection.

:/

Sadly, as with most of my other brights/neons (also many from this same collection), it was sheer, streaky, and hard to (ever) build up opacity. It was a cloudy day today, but that seemed to make it easier to capture the neon-ness of the polish, oddly enough. In the past days when it's been really sunny, the polishes always come off looking much more subtle than they really are... ?

Anyway, I really wasn't that much of a fan of the unexpected highlighter yellow OR the streaky-ness of it, so I added a stamp to spice it up/hide it, haha.

Can you tell i'm new to stamping? :/

Here I used BM19 and Konad special polish in black to get a polka dot effect to match the name. Done right, this would look really neat.

Aside from the atrocity of the stamping skills, I still like my nails much better with it than without it. Plain old highlighter yellow just isn't my thing, it turns out :/

What are yall's thoughts?

Anyone tried 'Yellow Polka Dot Bikini'?

Live Loud!- Day 3 & Lime Crime! (long post)

hey guys!

First order of business- hello, welcome, & thanks to my new followers!! I really enjoy this whole blogging thing, but it's not much use if i'm just blogging to myself :p So I really appreciate all my limited list of followers! :)

Next up,

some super fun makeup mail came in today! I blogged the other day about Lime Crime's little promo where you could get 15% off all their eye products. So this is what I got!

YUSSSSSSS.

Not only is their packaging super cute, but their products are fantastic. I've already got one Magic Dust eye shadow (blogged about forever ago here) but i've had my eyes on these little beauties for awhile. 

L to R: 'Circus Girl' & 'Siren' used over Too Faced's primer

 'Circus Girl' is a bright, sunshine yellow & 'Siren' is a rusty red. On the website it's depicted as being much brighter than it really is, which was somewhat disappointing simply because I was reallllly looking forward toward to such a BRIGHT red, but I still like it okay. It's more of a dried blood color, haha O_o

They both have a fantastic shimmer to them, and they're both shades (particularly the red) that i've had a hard time finding anywhere else. Urban Decay used to carry a great red, but since it was discontinued i've been on the hunt for one that's close to it.

(also, wtf at UD's recent list of shadows being discontinued- most were some of my favorites ever :/)

The great & unique thing about LC's Magic Dust shadows is that they're technically not only meant for your eyes- you can also use them on lips or cheeks! I will say that, since they're loose shadows, they're best used with a primer. Lime Crime has their 'Eyeshadow Helper', but they work fine with other brands (at least to my knowledge so far).

FINALLY, onto the polish.

I wish I'd gotten the chance to use this particular polish yesterday for Earth day, but I just didn't get the chance.

Without further ado (after all my rambling)-

'In the Lime Light'!

Ok, so as you can already see it went on a litttttle gloopy. It was a bit sheer so I used 3 coats to build up opacity, but they just didn't mesh well with my peel-y nails. Though after reading several other reviews on it, most people had the same issues :/

ANYWAY,

'In the Lime Light' is really a gorgeous neon that's on the cool side of a bright green. It also has a lovely, subtle blue shimmer to it which I love. When I saw this on the same row as half the other brights I tried, I knew I had to have it.

Unfortunately (and yet again) my pictures really don't do it justice. It's like my camera freaked out at the neon-ness and couldn't capture it- even in the daylight. humph :/ 

This, of course, dried matte like the others so I used a coat of SV on top... though I have to say, I hadn't had it on for 12 hours before it already was chipping/peeling away like crazy :(

Most unfortunate. It's a fantastic shade, but it's consistency was crap.

Do any of you have this polish? Or any Lime Crime?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading!!! :)

Live Loud!- Day 2

Hey guys,

so in between my mountain of homework, projects, and finals i've decided to take a moment to blog O_o

For day 2 of Live Loud week I have probably my favorite of them all so far (even the ones you haven't seen yet)- 'Flip Flop Fantasy'!

*sunlight

*fluorescent light

I was somewhat disappointed in these photos because the actual brightness/neon-ness of this polish didn't translate as well and they totally don't do it justice- this polish is BRIGHT.

'Flip Flop Fantasy' is a neon coral creme. Application and consistency were great. It's alllllmost opaque with one coat, but I still used 2 coats here. Like 'Sun Worshiper', this polish dried matte so I added a quick coat of SV to top it off- and i love it! :L

I don't have any other polishes really like this color, and the fact that it was neon was just the cherry on top. Great polish!

Do any of the rest of you have this?

What's your favorite neon?

Thanks for reading!

Live Loud! - Day 1

Heygirlheyyyyyy.

So as I was browsing in Sally's not too long ago, I kept bring drawn to the row of neons/brights... so of course I got a couple, and i love them so much that i've decided to dedicate a week to neon/bright polishes!

I was hoping to do this the week I go to the beach,

but i've got exams and an apartment to pack up before heading to Gulf Shores,

so there's just not going to be any time for it unless I do it now.

I've never really been TOO much of a super bright/neon polish fan, but I have no idea why. They are seriously my new favorites.

For day 1, I give you 'Sun Worshiper'.

'Sun Worshiper' is a fantastic neon orange. I didn't realize just how much of a neon it was until I saw it in the daylight the night after I first put it on. It's awesome!! It actually matched the orange in my UT shirt that day, which was a nice little surprise :p

Unfortunately the polish was a little runny/thin, but nothing too bad. I used 3 coats in the pictures above, but could have probably used a third. Oddly enough, it dried matte! Which was not what I was expecting, though it looked neat. I'm a bigger fan of the glossy finish, however , so i applied a coast of SV afterwards.

There you have it!

Makes me smile :D

NOTD- 'Cinderella'

Hey guys :)

So most of you have seen tonight's polish because it's been all the rage on blogs lately, but i JUST NOW got my hands on one after having a stroke of luck as I was ambling around Walgreens... (seems to be a theme this week, first 'Whimsical' & now this one), but i'll take it :p

When I first saw it in the store, I was a little discouraged because I didn't feel like it looked the same as i'd seen it in pictures, so my expectations wen

t down... but it delivered :)

Without further ado, Sinful Colors' 'Cinderella'

hooray!

This polish is a lovely baby blue with a pinkish-gold shimmer to it. The color is what drew me to the polish... the rest of it, though, is kind of meh. Of course, it WAS $1,99, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that the polish was pretty sheer & runny, and it takes at least 3 coats to build opacity. For the price though, i don't mind it :)

That's all for tonight!

Thanks for reading :)

new promo & look with 'cool' colors

Happy almost Friday! :)

Just wanted to share an exciting promo from Lime Crime with you guys-

for the next 24 hours you can get 15% off all eye products!

If you've never tried this company,

DO IT NOW.

their 'Magic Dusts' loose eye shadows are LEGIT. They have several shades that I can't seem to find anywhere else, & they're fantastic.

xD

Now on to tonight's post.

The idea of ice & fire from last week got me thinking about the other 'cool' colors on the spectrum, so I attempted a look using them.

Unfortunately it was dark by the time I thought to do this look (& I didn't want to have to re-create it the next day) so I only have pictures taken indoors, no sunlight :/

*straight on

*yes, i realize my eyebrows are atrocious atm

*further away

SWATCHES!

(all Urban Decay)

*From L to R: 'Graffiti', 'Peace', 'Evidence', & 'Gravity'

So there you have it. I really wish I could have used 'Gravity' in a more professional 'V' pattern, but all in time, i guess.

Anyway, for the most part I was pretty glad how these colors meshed.

What do ya'll think?

Have a great night,

& thanks for reading!

OH YEAH, & don't forget to 'like' my new fb page!

:)

new fb page & blogger appreciation award!

HEYHEY err'ybody.

So I finally feel semi-legit enough to make a fb page for 'Simply Beauty', so please head over and 'like' it, leave comments, share tips, etc.!

It would mean a lot :DD

Next up,

the fantastic Amber over at Nails Like Lace tagged me for this award. She does a lot of cute and really creative things, particularly with nail art, so check her out here! And thanks, Amber, for tagging me in the first place! :)

The rules for this award are:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award with their blog link on your post.

2. Answer the following 4 questions.

3. Award the Blogger Appreciation Award to as many readers/commenters/supporters/followers as you'd like.

4. Let the blogger know you've just awarded them (by leaving a comment, a tweet, an email, etc.)

The questions are:

1. How long have you been blogging?

  I've been blogging off and on about personal things for several years, but I've just recently been doing this blog since November of 2011! I'm still a n00b :p

2. What are 1-2 reasons why you started blogging?

 Well for starters, i've been playing around with eyeshadow for the past  6 or 7 years, and it's definitely something I enjoy and am interested in. My best friend showed me/introduced me to the nail world, which I find just as fun.

Aside from that, the initial reason I started blogging was because I needed a hobby. I'm a full time mother to a 6 month old and a student, so there are days I don't even leave my apartment :/ I really only have one or two people that I can hang out with, and i'm just cooped up by myself a lot... so I needed a distraction :)

3. What types of blogs do you like to follow/read?

 i follow nail, makeup, fashion, & beauty blogs.

My favorite are the makeup blogs & those that can do some crazy awesome looks, though :p

4. What is 1 thing you would like to improve on as a blogger/on your blog?

 My pictures, for sure. I don't have a lightbox, but I use daylight and the light in my apt to the best of my ability... though I feel like with either a lightbox or a better camera, the things I do would translate a lot better :/

I tag:

GaGa for Nails

Glitter Obsession

A Plethora of Nails

because you ladies are always great about commenting and i love reading your blogs! :))

So thank you!

FINALLY!- 'Whimsical'

Hey guys!

Super stoked tonight because I finally laid my hands on Revlon's 'Whimsical'. 

Unfortunately, by this point everyone has seen it & knows what it's about,

but it's lovely enough to see again :)

'Whimsical' is a light blue base with large blue & pink hexagonal glitter, and it also some blue micro glitter throughout... annnnnd it's basically a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's 'Glitter in the Air'.

'Whimsical' is SUPER sheer and best used as a top coat. However, I wanted to get the full effect first of the polish alone, so the above photos are with 5 (yes, FIVE) coats- which is at least what you need to be even near opacity.

Next I tried this over NOPI's 'All About the Glam' (which is a shimmery white, because I didn't want to take away from the natural color of 'Whimsical') but the effect was about the same & it came off after 1o seconds so I didn't take pictures of that.

Likely due to the fact that it takes so long to build up, even after applied over a base polish AND with a solid coat of SV, this polish was just too caked on and it rubbed off/wrinkled in minutes, which was pretty disappointing. I guess the only way this can really be used is if you only use a couple coats :/

I've been so excited about this polish, but it didn't quite meet up to my expectations. I do love it, though, and it's totally unique (aside from the whole dupe thing :X) so I'm still glad I bought it :)

zesty nails!

hellooooo everyone.

I've been wanting to use my daughter's cute little dress as inspiration some nail art for quite some time, but I was waiting for the warmer weather :) Despite the fact that today just happened to be the coldest day we've had in awhile, the rest of the weather lately has indeed been almost hot!

Luckily I almost have all the colors in it, so I used those plus BM04 plate for this mani!

*close up

I used:

PureICE's 'Wild Thing' as the base

Konad stamping polish in 'pink'

Zoya 'Pippa'

Sally Hansen's 'Sun Kissed'

& here's the inspiration!

I like this mani more than I thought I would, but it's still only meh. I wish the yellow & orange  slices had shown up better, but they weren't polishes specifically for stamping so i'm not surprised.

The worst part was the base polish. It's one of the polishes I've had the longest, & it's consistency was just CRAP. But it was the only polish I had that matched the dress, soooo :/

As soon as I got the plates a couple months ago & saw that stamp, I knew exactly how I wanted to use it. All in all, i ain't mad at it. It's okay :x

What do ya'll think?

let's talk about lashes: mascara reviews & comparisons - LONG post!

Hey guys!

My daughter's gums are REALLY bugging her because her first tooth is due just any day now, but despite the fact that I've done everything I know to do- she's still fussy & screaming her head off sometimes :(

Wears me out.

Haven't had much desire or energy to blog lately,

but tonight that changes :)

I wanted to dedicate this post tonight to one of the products that I view as part of my basic regimen- mascara! I've had several people ask me what I use or would suggest, so

I figured I would share with you my recent favorites (& least favorites) in case any of you are looking for something new.

So here goes...

First off,

Tarte's Amazonian Clay Mascara

I've tried a ton of mascaras, & this stuff is one of the best yet. This is advertised as the first and only "smart" mascara. It's supposed to 'read' your lashes needs when it's applied (for hydration, strength, etc.) and improves upon the qualities they're lacking in, which is great for brittle or dry lashes. It also has been proven to increase lash volume by a crazy 121% ! Of all the mascaras that claim to give you volume, length, etc. i've found this mascara to deliver the best. When applied it didn't tend to clump, like loads of other mascaras. The brush is great and helps apply evenly, even with a couple coats. A great product that you can get it here on their website for $19.

Next up,

Too Faced's Lashgasm mascara

First of all, the name is awesome, haha. One of the things that drew me to it in the first place :x This product as certain oils that ensure longer wear, and one of it's biggest claims is to really improve length- which I've found it to do. The skinny brush has "micro hooks" which are designed to really grasp each lash and extend. I already have fairly long eyelashes, but this mascara makes them look twice as long, I feel like. Another bonus, it's super easy to remove EVEN as it lasts long throughout the day :)

The only downside I've found to this particular mascara is that it CAN had a tendency to clump a bit :/ Nothing to serious, though.

You can get it on Too Faced's website for $21.

Now,

Urban Decay's Big Fatty Mascara

Well, you guys are going to be shocked. You all know I LOve my UD products, but this one just failed to deliver and is certainly not worth the $20 price tag. Aside from the cute packaging, I just wasn't that impressed. It has a super fat brush (thus it's name) but I just didn't find it to flatter my lashes. It's supposed to "thicken" your lashes, and it definitely does that... but way too much, even with just 1 coat. Mine clump and bunch up together and it's just horrid. 

NOW, if you have very thin lashes or are older and looking for a way to appear to have more lashes than you do, than this mascara is probably a great one for you. For me however, it just was a little too much.

Now onto something besides prestige cosmetics...

My #1 & the 'little black dress' of cheaper mascaras:

Maybelline's Great Lash mascara

This is one of the best selling mascaras from the 'basic' brands, & it's a title it definitely deserves. Besides my favorite perk of being contact lens safe, this little sucker (claims) to double your lashes and condition them as well. I've personally never had any problems with it clumping, either. PLUS it's in a great, small size that you can easily fit in a small purse or your pocket. PLUS, it retails for just about $4 or $5 bucks! :D

Another recent find,

Hard Candy's Lash Call Lengthening Mascara

...

Do not buy this, people. Though you can get it for a cheap $6 at Walmart, isn't not worth it. To begin, the brush is a wimpy, basic spiral brush. WTF. no thanks.

This product claims to be add length, which it DID, but while everything else clumped and it all came over super easily, so that basically cancels out it's one pro.

Avoid this one.

Finally,

COVERGIRL's LashBlast Volume Blasting mascara

I've used a version of this mascara over the past 5 years or so, & I loved every single one of them. It applies evenly, really DOES give great volume for a 'basic' brand, & lengthened a bit as well. You can get it at most stores for about $5 or $6, and it's well worth it :)

So there you have it! (if any of you managed to make it to the end of this ridiculously long post)

I hope this helped!

Do any of you have these?

What are your thought about them?

Thanks for reading!