ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Farewell

For my last Artsy Wednesday, I used Rimmel Mintilicious as the base and stamped flowers using Bundle Monster stamping plate BM02 and Wet n Wild Black Creme.

I think this is a fair representation of why it's time for Artsy Wednesday to end. While it was fun to have the challenges, sometimes I just wanted to do nail art that didn't have to do with the challenges, and doing my nails every 2 weeks was kind of hard. I also have been getting busier, hence why this picture is so awful: it's just one I took on my phone.

Check out the other girls' manicures for the last time:

Lab Muffin - Nail & Polish - An Accent Nail - Valiantly Varnished - MASPOOASE - Makeup and Masala - Every Little Polish

ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Inspired by a song

I saw Frozen a few months ago, and I couldn't get the song "Let It Go" out of my head. Here's a video of the song from YouTube:

Here are the nails I did:

I did the gradient using Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and sponged on Rimmel 60-Second Nail Polish in Mintilicious. I then topped them with a coat of China Glaze Luxe and Lush.

Check out the other girl's manicures:

Lab Muffin - Unnaked Nails - Nail & Polish - An Accent Nail - Valiantly Varnished - MASPOOASE - Makeup and Masala - Every Little Polish

ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Green

Ok, so I kind of cheated today. I've been in love with Rimmel Mintilicious, and so I really wanted to use it today, even though it's a minty-blue. It always comes out very blue in my pictures:

I sponged on Essie Stylenomics on my ring finger to make the gradient. (There's a good tutorial here on sponge gradients.) I then topped all my fingers with Revlon Stunning and NYC's matte top coat.

Unfortunately, as you can probably see, NYC's matte top coat doesn't work too well with lighter colors.

Check out what the other girls did this week:

Lab Muffin - Maria's Nail Art - Unnaked Nails - Nail & Polish - An Accent Nail - Valiantly Varnished - MASPOOASE - Makeup and Masala - Every Little Polish

ARTSY WEDNESDAY: Three colors

Today's theme was three colors:

I used Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish in Mintilicious as the base, and Kiss Brush-on Nail Art Polish in White and Wet 'n Wild Tickled Pink on top. After letting my base coat dry, I dipped a wand in some white polish, and then brushed the wand against my nail from my finger tips back to the middle of my nail. Then, after the white dried, I did the same thing with Tickled Pink. For my ring finger, I just dipped the mascara wand in white polish and then randomly brushed it against my nail. I think it ended up looking interesting; I want to try it with light colors on a dark background and see if the design will pop more.

Check out what the other girls did this week:

Lab Muffin - Maria's Nail Art - Unnaked Nails - Nail & Polish - An Accent Nail - Valiantly Varnished - MASPOOASE - Makeup and Masala - Every Little Polish

SWATCH & REVIEW: Rimmel Mintilicious + Similar Colors

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my sister and fell in love with Julep Dianna while going through her nail polish. I HAD to have a similar minty-blue color, and so I got Rimmel 60-Second Nail Polish in Mintilicious:

This color is slightly bluer than Julep's Dianna. (I had issues getting the color in the picture to match the actual polish; this swatch is the closest match I've seen.)

I did 2 coats here. This polish did, indeed, dry very quickly, which was nice. The polish was a little bit thick, and when I applied it, brush marks would show easily. NYC's top coat evened out the color and covered any bumps, though.The other downside was that the brush is a little fatter than I would have liked, and it made it hard to paint neatly. However, this polish was just $1.69, and so I'm still really happy with the polish.

Make sure you use a base coat with this! I used my PVC peelable base coat, and Mintilicious stained my nails a little bit. :(

Have you tried out any minty-blue polishes?  I have also seen minty-blue polishes by Essie (Turquoise & Caicos), Sally Hansen (Jaded; it's a bit greener than the others), and Revlon (Eclectic). If anyone has these, I'd love to know how their formulas compare to Minitilicious and Dianna!

Red Lipstick for Darker Skin Tones: Swatches and Tips for Choosing one

Hello everyone! :)
Today I have swatched some of the red lipstick I collected on my quest to find the perfect red lip. There are two true reds, two pinkish-reds, and a wine red liquid lipstick as well as a wine lip liner.

Left to Right: Covergirl 335 Tempt Seduction, Estee Lauder Pure Color 16 Cheating Heart, Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish 11, MAC Viva Glam I, and Maybelline Super Stay 24 2-Step Color Everlasting Wine

Here is a picture of the lip liner I swatched, Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine.

                                       (picture from lorealparisusa.com)

Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red Wine

There ended up being two pink-ish reds (the Covergirl and Estee Lauder lipsticks), two true reds (Rimmel and MAC), and the wine-colored Maybelline liquid lipstick. The Loreal lipliner was pretty wine-colored, but on my lips, it does seem a little pink or berry-colored. All of these types of reds look great on brown skin tones. Orange-reds can look great on some people, but it is very bright, and some people may feel too shy to wear something so bold. I've discovered that orange-reds do not look good on me.

Left to Right: CoverGirl 335 Tempt Seduction, Estee Lauder Pure Color 16 Cheating Heart, Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish 11, MAC Viva Glam I, and Maybelline Super Stay 24 2-Step Color Everlasting Wine

Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine

REVIEWS:

I was not a big fan of the CoverGirl and Estee Lauder lipsticks: first of all, they were pinker than I wanted, and second of all, they both bleed a lot, especially the Estee Lauder one. The Estee Lauder one also transfers a lot. If you wipe your face even a little bit, the lip color will smudge outside the lines. Also, the stain that these lipsticks left on your lips was very pink.

I really wanted to like the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick; I'd seen such great reviews, and I loved the classy packaging. At first, when I put on the color, I loved it. The color didn't seem too pink. However, after the lipstick wears off, the stain that this lipstick leaves on your lips is much, much more pink than the original color the lipstick was. (The lipstick originally looks like the swatch above.) Also, this lipstick bleeds.

MAC Viva Glam I is my perfect red lipstick. It wasn't too bright: the person at the counter steered me from Russian Red to this one because it is a slightly darker version of Russian Red. This color also last around 4 hours. After eating a meal, even if the lipstick had worn off, I had a nice stain that matched the original red that my lips had been.

I bought the Maybelline Super Stay lip color for a semi-formal event in December because I wanted a wine-colored lip that would last. The color and the staying power of this product was AMAZING. Some people have complained of it being too drying, but I slathered my lips with the lip balm provided ("step 2"), and I have never had that problem. The color literally lasts 12 hours, through eating and drinking, and still looks like it did the moment you put it on. It also does not transfer at all, so you can kiss your boyfriend with it on! The only downside is that I had to use an oil-based makeup remover to remove the product. If you want a wine-colored lip, but really want an actual lipstick, I would recommend MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Endless Drama. The color is rich and lasts around 4 hours. It isn't drying. However, it does transfer easily.

I also really like Loreal Infallible Never Fail Lipliner in Red/Wine. The color wasn't drying and did not bleed. It gave a very pretty matte lip that left a slight stain after eating and drinking. This color lasted for about 3 to 4 hours. 

WHAT I RECOMMEND:

-Maybelline Super Stay 24 Lip color

-MAC Viva Glam I or Endless Drama (This is a Pro Longwear Lip Creme)

TIPS ON FINDING THE PERFECT RED

1. Go to a MAC counter. MAC has a wide selection of many types of reds, and you can try them on here and see what kind of red you like: a berry red, an orange- or blue-based red, or a wine. 

2. Decide if you want to buy a MAC lipstick or a drugstore lipstick. I'd recommend buying a MAC one for a few reasons:

• They're excellent red lipsticks. With red lipsticks, you get what you pay for. MAC lipsticks wear for a long time, and the lip stain is strong and is the same color as the original lipstick.
• You may spend $17 trying to find a drugstore product you like.

If you decide to get a drug store lipstick, use Google to find swatches of the lipsticks before you get them, or try Googling for dupes of the MAC colors you like. If you don't like Maybelline Super Stay Lip color, I'd recommend going with a long-lasting lip liner like the Loreal one I swatched. Lip liners have great staying power, don't bleed, and can be easier to apply than lipsticks while still giving you a matte lip. Also, at least with the Loreal lip liner, you don't have to worry about the stain being a different color than the original color. 

Let me know if you have any questions!!