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Monday, May 28, 2012

Sugarpill Sunday: New Heartbreaker Palette!

I had a very plesant surprise when I opened the mailbox yesterday and was greeted with my Sugarpill package. Woo hoo!
Above: I really dig the box, which came adorned with the Sugarpill kitty label. I almost exploded from sheer cuteness.



Above: Even V couldn't resist the pretty kitty packaging! I love this picture. All the products came wrapped in pink tissue paper (shown on the far left) with a free glitter sticker, free pigment sample, and business card. I ordered Tako (the one V is sniffing) and the new Heartbreaker palette (to the right of Tako).




Above: The top view of the Heartbreaker Palette. It's really quite adorable and seems to be made out of the same material as the original 3 Sugarpill palettes, in case anyone is curious! :)




Above: The guts of the Heartbreaker palette. Beautiful!





Above: Arm swatches with NO primer from L to R: Acidberry, Velocity, 2AM, and Mochi.






Above: Arm swatches over NYX JEP in Milk from L to R: Acidberry, Velocity, 2AM, and Mochi.

Shade Descriptions, a la http://www.sugarpillshop.com/:

+ Acidberry: Finally! The perfect vibrant lime green you've been looking everywhere for. Matte with slightly pearl sheen.

+ Velocity: Vibrant matte royal blue.

+ 2AM: Matte Purple with a slightly pearl sheen.

+ Mochi: Matte mint seafoam with a slightly pearl sheen.




The Verdict:

Once again, Sugarpill does not fail to disappoint. Shipping was super fast and the quality is definitely standard Sugarpill awesomeness. I wore Mochi today (it's freaking breathtaking, especially in person!) and it still looks as vibrant as it did when I first applied it, with absolutely no creasing or smudging. I tried snapping a few photos this afternoon, but I didn't like how they came out (AKA the makeup was pretty, but I looked like dog shit). I've been a fangirl since Sugarpill opened in 2010, so it's great to see the recognition and appreciation Sugarpill has accumulated ever since. Amy definitely deserves it!

The Heartbreaker palette is $34 (which breaks down to $8.50 each shadow), and can be purchased at http://www.sugarpillshop.com/

Are there any other Sugarpill fangirls out there? Anyone ordering this palette? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

As always, thank you for reading. It is immensely appreciated. Have a great holiday! *.*



DISCLAIMER: All products mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with or compensated by the comany mentioned. All opinions are my own and completely honest.



Sunday, May 27, 2012

Focus on Indie: Darling Girl Cosmetics [Part 1]

Above: I sent for a very special model to showcase my Darling Girl Cosmetics swatches. Actually, he just kind of showed up and knocked everything off the table, but he was so cute that I didn't have the heart to fire him! ;)

First of all, I need to get the obligatory apology for my absence out of the way. I feel really bad for my hiatus. I know no one likes a blog that has infrequent updates, so hopefully I'll be able to get back on track now. I have no one to blame but myself (and my crazy, crazy life), but I've been craving a creative outlet all this time; and I'm glad to be back.

Alrighty then, let's get started! I'm so excited for this post, because it's about one of my very favorite indie companies: Darling Girl Cosmetics. Before I get into the picture love, I'd like to do a brief overview on the company itself and my experience with it.

About
Darling Girl Cosmetics was founded by a beautiful and oh-so-kind lady named Susan. According to Susan's blog(http://darlinggirlcosmetics.blogspot.com/), she was tired of searching endlessly for "the perfect color." She would come so close to a color she was looking for, but it would never be precisely what she longed for (i.e. not enough shimmer, not the right hue, not sparkly enough, etc.). I know I've been there! Susan started creating her own colors to fill the perfect color voids in her life, which is awesome for all of us, because her family and friends convinced Susan to start selling her beautiful creations to the public! Now she works independently creating a wide range of beautiful products, which can be found at http://www.darlinggirlcosmetics.com/


Customer Service
I've always had fantastic customer service with this company. One thing I really like is that Susan always keeps her customers updated through social networking sites, so no one is left wondering when a collection is coming out or how close their order is to being shipped. I think that says a lot about her loyalty, hard work, and overall awesomeness that she is so stellar at communication even though she's a one woman show!

Product Quality/Availibity
I've ordered from Darling Girl Cosmetics various times, and I can tell you that I've never been disappointed. In fact, I am captivated by her products. Her eyeshadows are unique and absolutely stunning. The pigmentation is top notch, and they're smooth and blendable. They're everything my heart desires in an eyeshadow. She has really lovely lip products too. Her Sweet Lips On the Go Sugar Lip Scrub combats dry lips immediately, and her Holo-glosses are a must have! Another thing that sets this company apart from others is the fact that the majority of her collections stay available for long periods of time (I'm talking years in some cases!). This is a huge plus for me, as there's nothing more disheartening in the makeup world when you find swatches of beautiful colors that are no longer available and were limited edition. To add to the awesome sauce, Susan even makes custom colors at NO extra fee. You're required to buy a full size if you order a custom color, but at $5.90 for a full size; you are getting an incredible deal. I can say from experience that I was very happy with how the custom color I ordered from her turned out.

Pricing/ Turnaround Time
Everything is very affordable, especially for the high quality products you get for your money. The eyeshadows come in a petite size ($2.50) and a full size ($5.90). I find that more than reasonable.The TAT has usually been about two weeks whenever I've ordered, and she's never gone over that estimate. 

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Okay, now that you hopefully have the main gist of this company in your brain, let's move on to the visual stimulation! Below are my swatches for the Darling Girl Cosmetics Darling Ghoul Halloween collection, which was released last fall. Thanks to Susan's incredible collection availibility, I was able to purchase these colors long after they were released (as in this year). I will tell you right off the bat that these swatches do not do these beauties justice! For visual reference, I seperated these in two groups: my full sizes and my petite sizes (Labeled FS and PS below the photos).


Above: FS bottoms from L to R: Will-O-Wisp, Jack's Lantern, and Bats in the Belfry


Above: FS top view from L to R: Will-O-Wisp, Jack's Lantern, and Bats in the Belfry



Above: FS opened from L to R: Will-O-Wisp, Jack's Lantern, and Bats in the Belfry


Above: FS arm swatches from L to R: Will-O-Wisp, Jack's Lantern, and Bats in the Belfry (Swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and outlined with black liquid liner for the heart shape)

Above: PS top view from L to R: Pumpkin Eater, Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles, Corpse Candle, and Ghost Light

[   A/N: I tried to get a bottom view snapshot of the petites, but I failed profusely no matter how much editing I tried. The labels aren't even readable in my photograph, so I decided not to post it. Sorry! :(   ]

Above: PS open from L to R:Pumpkin Eater, Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles, Corpse Candle, and Ghost Light.

Above two pictures: PS arm swatches from L to R: Pumpkin Eater, Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles, Corpse Candle, Ghost Light (Swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy)

Product descriptions
Please Note: Product descriptions in Bold are from http://www.darlinggirlcosmetics.com, and italicized descriptions are my take on the product.

+Will-O-Wisp: Will-O Wisp is a sheer, peachy pink with a silvery blue shift and blue reflect.
                     My swatches do not do this beauty justice. It is duochrome at its best, and it's to die for. I like to use it for my daily makeup routine as an inner corner highlight and to blend out a darker coral/pinkish color (Braaains from Evil Shades).

+Jack's Lantern: Jack's Lantern is my take on the orange glow emanating from all the Jack O' Lanterns guarding the porches on All Hallows Eve. It's a deep black base with a fiery red/orange shift. The combination looks like a blackened purple, especially when foiled.
                     I love Susan's inspiration behind this color. This is such a dark, sexy color. Though it's perfect for fall, I don't have a problem rocking this all year.

+Bats in the Belfry: Bats In The Belfry is a deep, murkey brown with a kind of olive green undertone and sprinkles of multi-colored green glitter. It has a fairly low sheen and on the metallic side.

                I couldn't come close to a better description than Susan's. She hit the nail on the head with that one. I think this is such a beautiful color that I like to wear in lieu of neutrals because "I got it like that" (insert 15 year old's voice from Maury that wanted a baby). Nah, I just like to use fun, interesting colors like these for my neutral looks because if I must wear browns, why not have fun with them?!

+Pumpkin Eater: Pumpkin Eater is pumpkin orange with loads of green iridescence.
               This color is so cute! I wore it the other day with a bright green to contour my eye, and I felt just like a pumpkin in May! Haha. It truly does work all year. Not only is it a great color for Fall/Winter, it rocks in Spring/Summer. What more could a girl want in a color? I love the green sparkles in this one- it totally amps it up to a whole new level.

+Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles: What is Halloween without Candy Corn? Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles is a blend of orange, chocolate brown and holographic glitters. So amazingly awesome as an eyeliner!

               This glitter blend is pretty freaking amazing. I recommend using a sticky base to rock this to its fullest capacity. Darling Girl has one called Glitter Glue that I use frequently and it works great! I also recommend Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

+Corpse Candle Spectral Shift: Corpse Candle is a sheer, light gray with violet sheen and purple iridescence.
              This makes for a lovely highlight color, whether it be on the brow bone to blend your eyeshadow out or on the inner corner to open up your eyes. It also looks amazing as an all over lid color. Duochromes have a way of stealing my heart, that's for sure

+Ghost Light Spectral Shift: Ghost Light is a sheer teal with a touch of green iridescence and a golden shift.

          Last but not least is Ghost Light, and it's sheer alright... sheerly amazing! Haha. It's light, but very pretty nonetheless. I like to mix it with Will-O-Wisp to create a really awesome and beautiful custom color.  I have a feeling Ghost Light would be a match made in heaven with Pretty Plasma, but I sadly don't own it yet. :( 

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So if you're still reading, that completes part one of my Darling Girl Cosmetics feature. I will have part two up as soon as my little fingers can type it out. Hopefully my life will stay calm and allow me to work on this, because I have a lot more beautiful colors just waiting to be swatched.

Please check out the website at http://www.darlinggirlcosmetics.com/. It's definitely worth your time! :)

Thanks for reading!

DISCLAIMER: All products mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with or compensated by this company in any way. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Handwriting Tag


Last night, I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and happened to stumble across this cute handwriting tag. I found it on Linda's Blog at innocenttwistedalchemy.blogspot.com. She is the owner of a wonderful independent makeup company called Innocent + Twisted Alchemy. Linda is just one of those people that is incredibly talented at anything they set their mind to. I own some of her eyeshadows, and they're breathtaking. She bases some of her makeup colors off of her art, which she is also very gifted at. I'll do a whole post dedicated to I+TA for my Focus On Indie series. I'm still contemplating on whether I should do Fyrinnae or Darling Girl Cosmetics next. If you guys have a particular preference, please let me know in the comment section below. Or if you'd like, you can e-mail me at BrightestStarOfAll@gmail.com.

Now, on with the tag!
So, there you have it. I obviously screwed up a few times, but it is what it is. It's a fun little thing to do on a rainy afternoon or when you're bored. I tag anyone reading this that would like to participate!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Mysterious Rainbow Connection Curse

It appears to be May already, so I've decided to begin the new month with a new manicure. Yesterday at Sally's, I picked up Mysterious Curse from the new Orly collection. I really didn't care for the consistency and application, but it is a pretty color nonetheless. In the end, I'm just too indecisive for my own good; and I smothered Mysterious Curse with a butt load of glitter.With the help of my zombie kitty, I snapped a few photos of the end result.





Products Used

+ Orly Bonder as a base coat
+ Orly Mysterious Curse
+ OPI Rainbow Connection (3 coats, used on top of Mysterious Curse)
+ Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

I truly hope everyone has a wonderful month. If you were lucky enough to get April showers last month, perhaps you will be blessed with May flowers quite soon. ;)

DISCLAIMER: All products used and mentioned were purchased by me for my own personal usage. I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned, nor am I compensated by any of the companies mentioned in any way. All opinions are my own.