Dior Misty Mauve (844) Swatches & Review

(pics are clickable)

What is up with this week?! Can someone tell me how I just got over a cold and then last night I get hit with the allergy bomb? My allergies haven't even been that bad since I had Lydia but last night was the exception. Perhaps it's because I took the kids to Petland in the mall and they had a gorgeous blue eyed kitty (and I'm not a cat girl) that I got nose to nose with. I didn't TOUCH the kitty... but I guess I got close enough to warrant allergy death time. =(

Anyway, I look and feel like crap AGAIN so today will just be swatches and a review of the Misty Mauve palette.

The Dior Misty Mauve 5 Colour Eye Shadow was LE for Fall 2010 (but somehow sold out before Summer 2010 was over?! lol) and is an Irridescent palette. It's sparkly and obviously much more sheer than yesterdays Beige Massai. If you're like me, and usually go for a subtle look, sheer is good! Especially when you're talking purple sparklies ;) Generally I would use this quad all together.. the 4 outer shadows on the eye and use the darker middle shade as a liner. I'll definately do a FOTD look with this at some point. If sheer isn't your deal, then definately pass. You COULD make this dramatic, but it wouldn't be as fun for you as, say, a purple from MAC or MUFE.




The Dior Misty Mauve 5 Colour Eye Shadow retails for $58 plus tax and can be found at Nordstrom or Macy's. Call around, you might get lucky! I don't think Sephora got this one, I never saw it online or in the store.

Dior Beige Massai (705) Swatches & Review

(pics are clickable)

Happy Monday! Well... not really. It's more like crappy Monday lol It hasn't been an AWFUL, rank day... but you know when the day is just annoying ENOUGH? That's my Monday.

A bright spot of this less than stellar Monday is that my Beige Massai (705) 5 Colour Eye Shadow has arrived in the mail!!



This 5 Colour is like BUTTAH. You seriously won't want to stop touching it. As a stay at home mom I find it's the most idiot proof shadow set that I've found. If you are going to splurge on some makeup, this is a good shadow set to do it on. You can do just about anything look-wise. Neutral, subtle, or deeper for a night look. I tend to do a more neutral day look and then use the darker colors to line, but I'll bust them out for crease color in the evening or when the mood strikes.

You get what you pay for, and TBH the higher price tag ($58) isn't so bad when you are getting 5 eye shadows (that are extremely versitile) and the applicators. Dior is the only brand where I actually USE the given applicators. The rest always sit untouched. I've always found Dior to be HIGH quality, long lasting, and CLASSY.





Dior 5 Colour Eye Shadow is available at Nordstrom.com for $58 plus tax. OR you can call my fav Dior gal, Kathy, at Nordstrom Ross Park Mall ;) 412-548-4300 - tell her Brooke says hi!! =)

Urban Decay Book Of Shadows III

My bestieeeeeee Tracy (from phibetafit.com) was in NYC this weekend for her Anniversary and she picked us BOTH up an Urban Decay Book Of Shadows III from their Times Square Location!!!!!!

I'm so freakin happy I don't know what to do with myself!!!! YAYYYYYYY!



Check Tracy's site (linked above) DAILY and subscribed to her Twitter account - she is the fitness QUEENIE and she knows her stuff!

FOTD ~ Coming Out Of Retirement & Dior Mascara Amazement

(click pics to enlarge)

Every once in a blue moon DH and I come out of retirement. Meaning when a family member of ours turns 21 we take them out for a booze fest.

Since we rarely go out and even more rarely drink I decided to do up my face and post on here. This will be part FOTD and part a Dior multiple mascara review, because when I did the Dior mascara it totally blew my mind.

For this look I used:
~ L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base
~ MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer NW25
~ MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation NW25
~ Lancome Dual Finish Powder Matte Bisque II
~ Dior DiorShow Brow Styler
~ MAC Brow Set - Clear
~ Urban Decay Eyeliner in Zero
~ Dior Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum
~ Dior DiorShow Unlimited Mascara in Black
~ Dior Extase Mascara in Black
~ Urban Decay Naked Palette Virgin (inner third of eye and highlight), Toasted (middle of lid), and Hustle (outer V and crease)
~ MAC Prim & Proper Blush
~ MAC Subculture lipliner
~ MAC Patisserie Lipstick
~ MAC Spree Lipglass
~ Brushes - MAC 168 (angled blush), MAC 227 (Virgin), MAC 219 (for Hustle), MAC 239 (Virgin & Toasted), MAC 226 (used to blend)






Now for the Dior Mascara...
I tried a combo that I read about, I believe with the sample of DiorShow Unlimited that I got from the Dior Event. It said to use the Dior Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum, DiorShow Unlimited Mascara and then Dior Extase Mascara. Good lord. My lashes usually look big anyway, I never wear falsies or curl them (I don't know how lol) but this combo just makes them BOOM.

Here are some scary eyeball pics to prove this ;)



What mascara combos work for you?

NOTD ~ MAC Jade Dragon

(pics are clickable)

Today my NOTD (since DH and I are coming out of retirement for DH's cousins 21st birthday lol) is MAC Jade Dragon.

This polish is pretty awesome. It's the first MAC polish, or really any polish in general, that I've only HAD to apply 2 coats. And I'm actually ok about it! Full coverage in two = time saver. Very important!

Jade Dragon is a REALLY pretty green with teal sparkle. This seems to be a hot color for fall, this greenish/turquoisness. I'm seeing it in all of the collections... and I like it. I like it a lot!

EOTD ~ MAC Burmese Beauty

I'm still feeling a little under the weather, but had to dive into my new MAC goodies!!!! Here is a borderline FOTD but really an EOTD lol I posted a full face pic just to show you the blush and lipglass since they are also from Fabulous Felines.

For this look I used:
~ L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base
~ MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer NW25
~ MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation NW25
~ Lancome Dual Finish Powder Matte Bisque II
~ MAC Taupe Brow Pencil
~ MAC Brow Set - Clear
~ MAC Desires & Devices Superslick liner
~ MAC Powersurge liner (bottom)
~ MAC Plushlash Mascara in Black
~ MAC Prized eye shadow (highlight)
~ MAC Showstopper e/s & Burmese Beauty e/s (crease & outer V)
~ MAC Skintone 2 e/s (inner half of eye)
~ MAC Utterly Game Mineralized Blush
~ MAC Wildly Refined Lipglass
~ Brushes - MAC 168 (angled blush), MAC 239 (for every color, this brush is amazing), MAC 227 (highlight), MAC 226 (to blend everything), MAC 204 (brow combing)




I found Desires & Devices Superslick Liner pretty easy to work with. It's not a liner you can rush and it feels really wet going on, which sort of skeeved me out. It looks great, though, and I'm happy enough with it that I'll probably need more ;)

MAC Fabulous Felines Haul & Swatches

(pics are clickable for full size viewing)

FINALLY MAC Fabulous Felines arrived today!!

First things first - haul photo!


I listed what I bought in this post and paid for the 2 day shipping, hoping I'd have the items for Thursday when FF launched in MAC stores and counters. Obviously 2 day shipping is worthless when you live so close to the distribution center =(

I'm not going to be going over the makeup remover or clear brow gel set. These are just HG's of mine that I had to order. The Jin Soon Jade Dragon nail polish will be tomorrow's NOTD swatch. This post will be all about the makeup!



I had heard Wildly Refined was an almost dupe for Light That Fire! Immediately I swatched them, along with Bendel Girl (which I've always thought was a dupe for Light That Fire!) and, respectfully, I don't think it's a dupe at all.

From Top to Bottom - Wildly Refined, Light That Fire!, Bendel Girl


From Top to Bottom - Wildly Refined, Light That Fire!, Bendel Girl (with flash)


From Top to Bottom - Wildly Refined, Light That Fire!, Bendel Girl (without flash)


As you can see from the swatches (with flash), Wildly Refined is much more pink. As I sit in the shade with the swatches on my arm they DO look slightly similar, but in the light there is absolutely no way they are dupes. In the non-flash photo Wildly Refined looks more copper-peach. It all has to do with the glitter colors in the lipglass. Still... not dupes. Final answer.

Next I swatched, with Wildly Refined Lipglass, Spree lipglass, Desires & Devices Superslick Liquid Eye Liner, and Utterly Game Mineralized Blush.

From Top to Bottom - Utterly Game Mineralized Blush, Desires & Devices SSLEL, Wildly Refined lipglass, Spree Lipglass


Utterly Game Mineralized Blush, at first swatch, has impressed me. It's incredibly pigmented and smooth. It doesn't seem as shimmery and glimmery as mineralized blushes of yore. A wonderful addition to my peach blush collection ;)

Desires & Devices Superslick Liquid Eye Liner is GORGEOUS. A beautiful Deep black green old gold....If I can get myself to apply this correctly I see many more in my future. I hear they're perm but that horrid little black triangle (LE FLAG!) on the MAC site states differently. FYI I had an EXTREMELY hard time wiping this off of my arm. I had to scrub til it hurt!

We've been over Wildly Refined color wise, it really is gorgeous. Not so much what I expected, but definately not a regrettable purchase.

Spree Lipglass has come out before with the Novel Twist collection, which was a Nordstrom exclusive collection from a few years ago. It sold out pretty quickly, but I just wasn't impressed with it. The Nordies Exclusive collections come out in Summer, so maybe that's why I didn't like Spree then, but I LOVE it now. My how our tastes change through the seasons!

Next comes the Burmese Beauty Quad:

From Top to Bottom - Skintone 2, Showstopper, Burmese Beauty, Prized


Skintone 2 is a Frost. Beautifully pigmented and smooth. Buying the quad is worth it for this one alone.
Showstopper has been in a few other palettes with MAC. It's a matte (which I hate working with but LOVE) and was exactly what I was looking for in a brown. Sorry the swatch is spotty, I was just working with a finger and not any type of brush.
Burmese Beauty is a (GASP) Lustre. Hate lustres. Hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. I actually didn't have much issue pulling up color with this one. It swatched well and will hopefully be just as easy to work with on my eyes. It reminded me of Blue Brown pigment. So if you hate working with pigments but love the look of Blue Brown this would be a good one for you.
Prized is a Satin and is almost the exact same color as my skin, apparently. I wish this one was a part of the permanent line. I could totally see this one replacing Grain as my HG highlighter.

Originally I didn't want any of these quads, but it was literally making me sick (so weird) that I wasn't getting one. I was in the market for a matte brown and a pretty gold so Burmese Beauty seemed like the smartest option.

I thought this was a pretty good launch from MAC. It didn't scream at me that I needed it all (which makes hubby happy) but it has some good options for just about everyone.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get Lithe pigment or Aristo-cat lippie. Maybe next haul ;)

Flashback Friday

Today we're flashing back five and a half years... to my wedding reception!!!

We got married in the Bahamas but came back to have the reception at home. Jeff and I are known for our cake battles, so I don't know why anyone thought we'd be different with a wedding cake.

We were both tentative feeding each other that first slice.... he thought he'd be cute and wipe a little on my nose. I took it wrong and thought he was going in for the kill and smashed a full piece on him. Then it was on. We had to be moved away so as not to completely go to town on the whole cake. It was seriously the best time of my life lol



Click the Christopher and Tia button (below) for more Flashback Friday fun!!

Swatches ~ China Glaze Awakening Collection

(pics are clickable for full size viewing)

For Halloween 2010 China Glaze has launched their Awakening collection. The collection consists of three polishes - Mummy May I, Zombie Zest, and Ick-A-Bod-Y.




Mummy May I

Mummy May I looks black based with purple sparkle in the bottle, but on the nails its a deep purple base with the flashy purple sparkle. It came out a lot prettier than I thought it would. With all of these polishes (IMO) you need the full three coats to achieve the color in the bottle. It's a bit patchy in places if you stop at 2, unless you're really gooping it on.

Zombie Zest

Zombie Zest is my fav from the collection. It has a fine green glitter.. the color of the green makes me think of seaweed or moss. Something from a swamp. A more appropriate name for this one might have been Swamp Thang ;)

If you know me the fact that Zombie is my fav should come as a surprise. Initially I was drawn more to Ick-A-Bod-Y, but on the nails Zombie Zest captured my Halloween lovin' heart. Pittsburgh is big on the Zombie's so I could see this being a fav in the area as well.

Ick-A-Bod-Y

Ick-A-Bod-Y with it's black base and orange glitters makes me think Halloween the MOST. Orange....Pumpkins... mmm which makes me think of pie... ok back on base here.... =)

Three coats of Ick will do ya, but you might want to slather on a fourth just in case. It gets you some more coverage as well as more glitter, which is always good. You can never have enough glitter ;)

This whole collection screams (hehe) Halloween. The colors are so cool I'd wear them even when it's not the ghostly season. (PS - I apologize for the random positioning of my hand... it bugs me that it's not uniform but those were the best shots of the polishes, which I feel is more important.)

China Glaze can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for the retail price of $5.99 each (right now they're on sale for $4.99). From what I've read, the Halloween Awakening Collection will launch in September 2010.

Follow China Glaze on Twitter and Facebook!!!

Swatches ~ Orly Space Cadet & Orly Galaxy Girl

(pics are clickable for full size viewing - seriously, this is one time you WANT to click the pics!!!!)

FINALLY!!!! My Orly's!!!!!

Arriving today was my smallish nail polish (poet and didn't know it hah) order. I haven't done a np order in a long time. Mostly because nothing really has called to me lately.

The new line from Orly, Cosmix (Cosmic FX), has piqued my interest since the bloggers that got samples have been posting their swatches. It was imperitive that I pick up two of the polishes early from an online retailer. Galaxy Girl (Purple with blue green FX) and Space Cadet (Green with purple gold FX).



I seriously can't even begin to describe these colors to you. No photo in the world can capture how unbelievably amazing these polishes are. The effect of the color mix in these polishes is impossible to describe, and my photos don't do them justice.

GALAXY GIRL
Shown here with 3 coats of polish and a top coat of Seche Vite.





SPACE CADET
Shown here with 4 coats of polish (normally I always do 3, but it was so pretty I kept painting lol ooppsssss) and a top coat of Seche Vite.





You can really tell from the pics of the bottles the different dimensions of color that these possess. Very unique!

After I finish my swatching for the day I'm totally putting Space Cadet back on for the long haul. There's a reason it's been numero uno!! The rest of the collection is definately top of my NP wish list.

Get these while you can! The collection is LIMITED EDITION. I usually pick up my Orly np from Sally Beauty Supply but I believe you can also get them at Ulta and of course at orlybeauty.com starting on September 1. These ones are a bit more expensive and retail for $10.

Orly is new to Twitter and Facebook... click the links to follow them there!

Urban Decay ALERT!!!

Thanks to @javybooo on Twitter, this was brought to my attention - Urban Decay now offers Primer Potion in a TUBE!!!! It's a $45 value Professional Size and retails for $29. I'm ALL over it.

URBAN DECAY Eyeshadow Primer Potion Professional Size

The con? It's LIMITED EDITION. Seriously? Come on now, Urban Decay. Your fans have been BEGGING for something like this and you've made it LE?!

Make it perm, Urban Decay, PLEASE =D

MAC Fabulous Felines Haul

Welllllllll folks. I hauled. Surprised?! haha

MAC Fabulous Felines Collection launched today on maccosmetics.com. It is a HUGE 3 part collection which includes Leopard Luxe, Burmese Beauty, and Palace Pedigreed. I love the big cats. They're totally sexy so of course the collection, even in name alone, appealed to me.

Also released today were the Fall Trend Bags. Which, to me, were kind of disappointing compared to years past. With a collection name like Fabulous Felines attached to it... I mean they could have done some really cool stuff. They're plain. Blah.

A Nail Trend F/W '10 line was also released. Just like last year a collection of 6 polishes made for the brand by designer Jin Soon. These actually seemed better online than they did in person. While I was swatching at Nordies the only colors that appealed to me were Jade Dragon and Rain of Flowers. I think with the awesome colors out by Orly (Cosmic FX) this month MAC really dropped the ball, nail polish wise. Though they aren't primarily a nail polish BRAND like Orly... still...

I wasn't so impressed of the collection online based off of peoples swatches and the written descriptions that MAC provided or were leaked to various websites and blogs. In person, this collection presents a whole different ball game. I peeked and played while I was waiting for Falyn during the Dior event. I meant to take a picture of the set up, but forgot =| It was a Dior day, so you really can't blame me there!

I wish I had the funds to just buy everything, especially to do blog swatches and all that. I don't, so I had to stick with the basics. I went back and forth on the quad. In the end.... I obviously needed it.

My haul:
~ Burmese Beauty Quad (BB)
~ Spree Lipglass (BB)
~ Desires & Devices liner (BB) (if i love this I fully intend to buy more, so pretty!)
~ Wildly Refined Lipglass (LL)
~ Utterly Game Blush (LL)
~ Jade Dragon Nail Polish (Jin Soon)
~ Clear Brow Set (HG*)
~ Gently Off Eye & Lip Remover (HG)

I did pay for the 2nd day shipping. They ship from Maryland so technically I should get this on Thursday rather than Friday when I'd normally get it. But we'll see, I may have ordered too late. (Sorry, folks... this blogger is SICK and passed out on the couch while the little one napped and the older one danced a jig on my head.)

Once it all arrives I'll do some swatches. Probably no EOTD or FOTD til I feel better lol I look like I've been in a serious brawl.

Did you order or plan on getting anything from the MAC Fabulous Felines collection?? LIST!!! I have to know what you got and why! ;) When you haul I haul! hehe

** HG means Holy Grail... or an item I use every day. I thought I'd add in the little asterix because I know my mom is reading this and going wtf is HG. lol

NOTD ~ Orly Luxe

(pics are clickable)

Stillll waiting for ALL of Felines to get up on the MAC site lol so here is another NOTD shot for you!

Orly Luxe is part of the Foil FX Color Collection. Gorgeous gold foil metallic with slight shimmer. Dries QUICKLY which I love. Quick dry is totally necessary when you have kids!

3 coats, no bottom or top coat:




Orly Nail Polish retails for $7.50 at orlybeauty.com or you can pick them up at your local Sally Beauty Supply.

Orly is NEW to Twitter! Follow them HERE.

NOTD ~ Nubar Reclaim

(pics are clickable)

As I sit here patiently (not really) waiting for MAC to put Fabulous Felines on their site I decided to bring you another NOTD.

This one is Nubar Reclaim...a gorgeous green holo. This is the only Nubar I own, but I absolutely LOVE it and definately would not be opposed to buying more in the future!

In the pic I did 4 coats (because I had done 3 and the phone rang so I messed it up) with no top coat or bottom coat... lazy again lol





Nubar polishes retail for $7.49 each and you can find them at bynubar.com.

Follow Nubar on Twitter HERE. Sometimes they post some awesome deals on retail orders!!

NOTD ~ Zoya Brooke

Because my kids are napping and I'm sick lol I bring you another NOTD!!

Zoya Brooke (my namesake!!!) - I love this color and it's in my summer pedi arsenal. I think this may be the first time I've had it on my fingers!!!





Do you have a Zoya namesake? I must say, on the site I really wasn't crazy about the color and was disappointed that my namesake wasn't an awesome sparkly RED that spoke to me. On the nails though, this one ROCKS. It should definately be in your cart for your next Zoya order ;) And while you're at it, pick up a bottle of Remove+ . Nothing will take off your polishes quicker, safer, and nicer than this. Much better than your 99cent drug store buy!!!

Zoya polishes retail for $7 on Zoya.com - Follow Zoya on Twitter for contests, steals and deals!!

NOTD ~ Dior Gold Nugget

Today's Nail Of The Day is Dior Gold Nugget. This polish was released by Dior in the Summer of 2008 (Gold Rush) and sold out pretty quickly. At last glace on the boards it was still pretty sought after. It's in my top 3 favorite nail polishes, and is quite possibly numero uno.

This is 3 coats, with no base or top coat, because I'm feeling sick and lazy ;)


It's a beautiful Golden Bronze glow with shimmer. I don't have a ton of polish experience but I've never found anything quite like it. Though MAC has released a few that have come close (most recently Originality and before that Mercenary) nothing quite hits the "spot" like Gold Nugget.