BodyJewelleryShop.com Contact Lens Review

I decided to write a review on some contact lenses I purchased from an online website called www.bodyjewelleryshop.com.

I was looking for some contact lenses that would be a part of my Halloween costume and I decided to purchase "Zombie" lenses. (I have a thing for all things Zombie.) I took to Google and found BJS.com's website and decided to give it a look.

The site was easy to navigate. They have their menu toolbar set up on the left hand side and you can see their vast array of items to purchase from contact lenses to body jewelry. I went to their tab marked "Halloween Contact Lenses" and it immediately brought me to their selection of lenses . After looking at several different contacts, I decided to purchase the "Zombie" lenses, which were $27.88 with free shipping for items over $15.50.

BJS.com is based out of the UK so it would take 6-12 days for me to receive my purchase. And because I live in the US, the company does not provide tracking with my item. Upon ordering, I was immediately emailed an order confirmation of my purchase, and the next day I received an email stating that my purchase had been shipped. All that was left was to play the waiting game.

I received my purchase on October 26 in a brown envelope with the bubble wrap padding inside. Inside the envelope was my contact lenses, separated into two different vials, instructions, and and a contact lens case to hold them in after use. The box they came in was wrapped up in my invoice and BJS.com also included a catalog of their other contact lenses which makes for fun browsing and possible shopping for a later date.

I decided to try them on the night before I was to dress up for Halloween to see how they would feel and get adjusted to them. The vials they came in were sealed with a very strong metal band that was almost difficult to remove. While annoying, I truly appreciate the fact that it is there because it lets me know that my lenses are sterile and have not been touched until I actually opened the vials.

When I tried them on, they were very soft and comfortable. The white also showed up with lots of opacity against my dark brown eyes and so I was very pleased with that. They immediately gave me the "creepy" factor I was looking for.

I ended up wearing them for almost 12 hours at work, which I do not suggest, but my eyes were comfortable up until the last hour of work which was when I took them out and put them in the contact lens case.

Here is my look for the day:

Overall, I can say that I am very please with my purchase and would definitely consider purchasing from them again. I can't complain about the fact that they're based in the UK and the two week wait because I was very please with the quality of their products.

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!!!

*all images are my mine. please do not steal*

Madd Style Cosmetix Review/Swatches

"Madd Style Cosmetix"

The first time I heard the name, I thought, "Sounds interesting." I checked it out and when I saw the pictures, I thought, "Right up my alley." Several friends of mine use Madd Style Cosmetix and the line has developed one hell of a following. Many of MSC's users swears by it. So I thought, "Why not?" I took to Mo's (the owner) webpage (she used to sell on www.etsy.com but has since moved to www.artfire.com. I will include the link down below at the end of this review.)

The set up of her virtual shop is very neat and organized, her personality exuding through every aspect of the page. Near the top she has a "Featured Items" tool bar set up for new promotional items, Color of the Week and special deals such as 5 shadows for $20.

She has her information set up for everyone to see including what ingredients are used as well as what is not used and whether they're Vegan or not. (Miss Mo's products are all vegan FYI.Yay for Vegan Piggiez!! lol)

She also has a set up on the right side of her webpage categorizing her products by color, making it easier to find what you're looking for.

Upon looking at her products, I saw the awesome "Rock Star" flare showing through from her product presentation to the names. When clicking on any particular shadow that catches your eye, she also has swatches provided to show a consumer what it will look like on the skin and/or closeups as well as a product description for those who want to know what they're buying.

Each shadow sells for $5.00 plus an initial $2.00 for shipping and then an extra 25 cents for each product ordered thereafter.

After searching through her bountiful selection of pigments, I (barely since many of them looked so AWESOME) managed to select 8 different shadows to buy.

The shipping took a little over a week, something Mo has put on her page. She works alone and ships every Wednesday so if you want to get an order in, make sure you do it before Wednesday.

 So anyway, these are the 8 pigments I ordered:

• Spooky Girl
• Ecto Cooler
• Silver Haze
• Kitty Wumpous
• Glitter & Doom
• Glitter Bitches
• Outlaw Star
• Trashed

After waiting, impatiently as always, my order came in a yellow mailing envelope and my shadows safely packed and neatly placed inside. I immediately opened them and began looking at my lovely sparklies. I loved the packaging of the shadows instantly. The pigments come in 5 gram sifter jars and are filled to the brim. On the lid is her signature zebra print and pink diamond with crossbones.

on the back is the names of the pigments.

You know what comes next...

SWATCHES!!!

(Dry/Wet in artificial light)

(Dry/Wet in natural light)

close ups in same order of list and swatches:

Spooky Girl

Ecto Cooler

Silver Haze

Kitty Wumpous

Glitter & Doom

Glitter Bitches (which i forgot to take a close up picture of, but it is swatched on my arm above.)

Outlaw Star

Thrashed

Now, since I bought so many shadows, I will only review 3 of my absolute favorites from this batch of shadows.

First up is Outlaw Star.

I'm a sucker for hot pink. I have more than one type of hot pink lipstick and it is fast becoming true in regards to my shadows. Outlaw Star is a deep metallic pink that especially shows through when applied wet. I love the glint and gleam of it against my skin tone and it's just an all out fun color to own.

Next is Thrashed.

Thrashed is an amazing green/yellow metallic duo chrome that changes from an interesting pea green (who'd have thought?) to a deeper shade of the same green but with a golden sheen to it. Another fun color to own and from what I've seen on many of the women who use MSC, it works on many skin tones. Always a plus. As of right now, the pigment doesn't look like it's for sale on MSC's website but maybe it will come back at a later date.

Last is Silver Haze.

I love this color because it is a shimmery pastel that shows up white with a hint of green on the skin. But when applied wet, it turns to a translucent jade color that shimmers very nicely on the lid. 

All in all, I love this product as well as the lady who runs this neat little independent cosmetic line. Since buying this first batch, I have bought 10 samples pigments as well as several 5 gram jars more bringing my collection of Madd Style Cosmetix to a whopping 21 shadows. (My collection has nothing on several of my friends collections. LOL)  I've also spoken to Mo several times via Facebook and she is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest and sassiest chicks I've ever met... on the internet. LOL.

You can check out her web page at: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/MaddStyle

You can also check her out on Facebook, Youtube and Blogger. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Madd-Style-Cosmetics/117690188289432

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MaddStyleMozie?feature=mhee

Blogger: http://maddstylezz.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoyed this review!!!

Sugarpill Cosmetics Swatch/Review

I first heard of Sugarpill on YouTube while watching one of my favorite Makeup Gurus, Petrilude. He was reviewing a local (I live in California) cosmetics line called Sugarpill created by none other than Shrinkle herself (if you don't know who that is, check her out on eBay. She sells her clothing line as well as other cosmetics.) From the moment I saw Petrilude's swatches and the pretty boxes and packaging it came in, I knew I had to have this cosmetics line.

Now, I know there are tons of reviews out there singing it's praise as well as many beautiful swatch reviews... and this swatch/review will be no different.

So without further ado, here is my Swatch Review on Sugarpill Cosmetics.

The website from which you can order is www.Sugarpill.net. It's a melange of pink and black print with flashing images of pretty models wearing the pretty makeup. There are tabs near the top that help you navigate your way around the site. Of course upon the site loading, the first tab I click is "Shop". It brings me to a page where potted shadows and pigments are on display, bedazzling my senses with what I call Sparkle Overload.

Her line carries 9 pressed shadows, two eye shadow palettes that carry four eye shadows at a time, and 18 loose shadows. She also sells lashes and other fun stuff like stickers that you can put on your cosmetic boxes. Each shadow is sold for $12.oo each and each eye shadow palette is sold for $34 (which, as I said before, come with four shadows in them. If you got both palettes, you would get 8 out of the 9 pressed shadows and would essentially be buying 3 shadows and getting one free. I'll go over the palettes when I swatch). When you click on each shadow to view it, you can also see the information of ingredients and whether or not it is vegan.

So after staring at the website for several hours (yes, literally, hours) I finally chose several pieces to buy. I ended up buying both of the eye shadow palettes and four loose eye shadows. Shipping took the standard 3-7 days and I waited impatiently every single one of those days, LOL. When it finally did arrive, it came in a non-descript white box that had what is becoming Shrinkle's signature pretty kitty stamped on the outside. When I tore it open, it was wrapped in hot pink tissue paper and came with a hand-written note from Shrinkle herself, thanking you for your purchase. Awesome customer service if you ask me. It also came with a sample of one of her loose shadows, a Sugarpill logo sticker and two business cards with bomb looking models wearing the makeup. I haven't even bothered to throw them away. I keep them in my makeup train case, haha!

Now comes the fun part! PICTURES!!! These are the pieces I bought.

Pretty, huh? It's enough to make you want to keep the boxes. So of course, I immediately opened up each box to see the treasure inside and of course, did swatches. First up are the palettes.

(back of the box the palette came in)

(cover of each eye shadow palette with the outside box removed)

So as I said before, she sells two palettes that carry fours shadows each. They are called the "Sweetheart Palette" and the "Burning Heart Palette".

The boxes are made of heavy cardboard which seem durable (although I don't plan on tossing it around any time soon) and also have a full sized mirror inside.

The "Burning Hearts Palette" contains the four pressed shadows called Flamepoint, Buttercup, Love+ and Poison Plum.

The "Sweetheart Palette" contains another four pressed shadows and they are called Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori and Tako.

The only shadow not featured in these palettes is the pressed shadow Bulletproof, which is a matte black shadow. I didn't get that one as I already have several matte black shadows in my makeup kit.

I swatched them on my arm over Urban Decay Primer Potion, no base.

Flamepoint, Buttercake, Love+, Poison Plum

Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori, Tako

The colors went on very smoothly and I love the color pay off Love+, Poison Plum, Dollipop and Tako. Buttercup's color pay off impressed me as yellow tones that contain no shimmer don't really show up very well on my skin without a white base underneath. Flamepoint was also impressive but being a warmer tone, it is still something I would use with a white base in order to get a more truer shade without my skin tone contributing anymore warmth to it. Afterparty and Midori are beautiful colors as well and I love the coolness of each color, especially Afterparty. I do feel that I had to rub on a little more of Midori for it to show up on my skin, so again, it's another shadow I would use with a white base if I wanted to get a truer shade out of it.

The two that stood out to me most of the 8 shadows would Dollipop and Afterparty. I could definitely see an eye shadow combo using these colors.

Next are the loose shadows. Each loose shadow jar contains a net weight of 5 grams and for only $12.00 that's a huge amount of pretty sparklies that will get any Makeup Junkie addicted quick. The lids of the jars are twist on tops with the label printed on.

The loose shadows I picked out were:

Stella, Goldilux, Absinthe and Asylum

The jars come packed with loads of product and sparkles. I found myself "ooh"ing and "ah"ing over each jar that I opened. Shrinkle was surely not stingy with distributing her product.

First up, Stella:

Stella is a beautiful black based pigment with tons of sparkle that are almost chameleon like as they change in colors from blues and purples to greens and pinks. In the jar it is very pretty to look at, but this shadow is one that I would suggest be used wet. When applied dry, the shadow needs to be packed on which results in a lot of fall out. Also, when I attempted to brush it on, it only seemed to smudge the black base of the shadow and sweep off the sparkle. Something that I did find that helps with keeping the glitter on is using a duo-fiber crease brush.

Next, Goldilux:

There is so much to be said about this shadow. It is beautiful applied wet or dry. When applied dry, it creates a beautiful shine on the lid that is visible in any light. And when it's applied wet... all I can say is OMG!!!. It creates a dramatic, metallic sheen on the lids that is sure to catch anyone's attention. It stays its true color in either form and is almost too decadent to wear. Almost being the operative word....

Now for Absinthe:

The name itself made want to have this shadow. It is a beautiful metallic lime green shadow with a multifacetous glitter that changes in the light. The glitter color ranges from golden sparkle to pink and then green. This shadow can be used wet or dry but I prefer to use it wet so that it shows true on the skin.

Lastly, is Asylum:

This shadow is one that I actually had to wait to order because it was sold out. As soon as it came back into stock, I made sure to order it right away. When I first opened the jar, I thought that it looked a little darker, maybe more smokey, than the swatch that was shown on the website. This was definitely one that had to be swatched in order to see what color it would show on the skin. It is a pretty red brick color with lots of redglitter and one I cannot wait to use. I can already tell that this is something that I would use a lot during Halloween time.

These are the swatches on the skin.

(Dry/Wet over Urban Decay Primer Potion)

I see lots of sparklies in my future... ;-)

I know this has been a lengthy review, but I wanted to express my thoughts on a great line and let all of you know that it is truly worth the buy and wait. Thanks for sticking through the whole review and I hope that you enjoyed it.

Oh, and thanks, Shrinkle, for creating such a wonderful cosmetic line!

MAC Semi Precious Eye Shadow Review/Swatches

So MAC has a new line of mineral shadows out and for those of you who are MACjunkies like I, you know what I am talking about. They have come out with a line called "Semi Precious" and there are 12 shadows, 5 lipglosses, 4 skin finishes, 4 lipsticks, 3 blushes, 2 dual faced eyeshadow brushes, 1 face dual faced foundation brush, 1 dual faced kabuki brush and 1 mascara...


Whew, that's an extensive line! As much as I would have liked to own the entire collection, I focused on snagging three eyeshadows for myself. As beautiful as everything else was, I am pretty constant in the formula of foundation/primers/concealers/setting powders that I use. But being that I am a total eyeshadow junkie, I made sure to make my way to MAC and grab up the three I had been eyeing.


The line was released to the public in the States this past Thursday (7/5/11). I had actually gone to the MAC store on the Tuesday before release because I received an email from the MACpro site and the lovely ladies in the store (who now know me by face and name... o_O) were kind enough to let me go to the back room where they had the display set up so that I could peruse them and swatch them for myself.

The three that caught my eye were "Blue Sheen", "Unsurpassable", and "Hint of Sapphire"

Now, I've read and watched different reviews on the eyeshadows and many of them did not receive great marks. Maybe 4 out of the 12 were said to be considered worth buying. Though I totally respect the opinion of many of the Makeup Gurus on YouTube and Beauty Bloggers, I decided that this was something that I would have to decide for myself. I defintely take what others have said into consideration, but after swatching the shadows myself and liking what I saw, I decided to buy them when they were released. And also, because some of my friends wanted to see these shadows swatched as well, I decided to write out this review.

So these swatches were done wet and dry over Urban Decay's Primer Potion. Also please keep in mind that I am a darker skinned girl, so hopefully this will help all you girls (and boys) with a more golden-brown skin tone decide whether you'd like to invest in these shadows.

(from left to right: Hint of Sapphire, Blue Sheen and Unsurpassable)

First up, Unsurpassable. In it's pan, it's mix of greens, blues, pinks and sparkles galore. When it is swatched on the skin it totally changes the shade that would be expected if it were to be taken at face value. I personally like the sheer and sparkly effect that it gives on the skin. It gives that perfect wash of color that I would associate with a fairy or princess. (I know, I'm a romantic. lol.)

Dry, you can see more of the mixture of green and blues, giving it almost a jade-like appearance with small flecks of pink.

Wet, the pink seems to make more of an appearance almost canceling out the green. It becomes an indescribable neutral-like color but the sparkle is still there.

I personally like the shadow when it's applied dry.

Then there is Blue Sheen. It is a deep, royal blue with flecks of pink in it that I feel are very nice in contrast to each other. However, wet or dry, the color pay off looks the same to me. The wet swatch is only a tiny bit more intense than the dry swatch but I do think one way or the other, it would be beautiful to wear in either form.

Now for Hint of Sapphire. When swatched dry, it's another shadow that seems packed full of greens and blues and pinks, although in the pan it is more blue than green as opposed to Unsurpassable. It also shows up somewhat sheer but again, I like that and it's something I was looking for anyway. It swatches more blue on the skin with little hints of green and pink sparkles.

When swatched wet, the blue seems to come out more, over powering the green in it almost.

I think this is one shadow I would also prefer to wear dry.

Some things that I like about these shadows is that they're definitely attractive to look at in the pan and on the skin. I feel that these are something worth investing in. They are also multi-faceted. They change in appearance slightly. Unsurpassable and Hint of Sapphire show up one color on the skin until you view them from a different angle, as well as whether they are seen in artificial or natural light. Blue Sheen seems pretty constant although when applied wet, the deep blue over powers a lot of the pink sparkle that is embedded in it.

As for the other shadows, while they were definitely nice to look at, I am a picky buyer. Something has to really catch my eye for me to really want it (and that is after talking to the MACgirls, reading and listening to reviews and doing my own personal swatches.)

They can be bought for $20.00 at any store that sells MAC. I hope that this eyeshadow swatch review was helpful to you all!

Thanks for reading!!!

I've beee M.I.A...

All right, all right, I know I've been completely M.I.A. for far too long. It's been almost five months since I graduated from Cosmetology, almost four months since I took my State Board and obtained my license (holla at ya girl!) and 3 months since I got a job working at Regis. Yup, I am officially a working stylist!!!

Bad, Chase, bad!!! :-)

Things have been busy and hectic and I've been lazy. (I need to take that word out of my vocabulary.) But yes, things are going very well for me. I can't believe that it's been over a year and a half since I started my journey to set out to do what I love and working as a stylist is a dream come true.

Things have been so great, I can't believe that it's all worked out for me as well as it has. I am truly blessed and I just wanted to share what's been up in the world of me.

Another event happening in my life? We are now apartment shopping. We have one place that we hope to get so for all of you who read my blogs, cross your fingers!

Thanks for reading! LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Graduation!!! ... Now What?

okay, now that I've had some time to actually relax from a busy prior week as well as weekend...

Graduation Day... the day on which I completed the required 1600 hours of education mandated by California in order to attend State Board in order to obtain my license which I had to take out 2 student loans for so that I can become a licensed Cosmetologist....

it was a day that was bittersweet to say the least. no more getting up early to sit in traffic to roll my kit up to my station, no more two hours of theory, no more smoke breaks with my friends, no more talking and listening to my favorite teachers...

I can still remember the first day of school, sitting all giddy and freaked out, wondering what I was going to learn. Would I be able to retain all the information? Would I even be good at this profession? Luckily enough... the answer to these questions is a resounding yes!!! thank god!

now it is time for me to put all I've learned to the test and see if what I've gained from Cosmo school is enough for me to be a successful stylist.

i will have to rely on myself now to know the difference between a cold wave and a soft curl perm, a thio and a hydroxide, the different angles of a haircut, the arc of a developer's strength and the tone of someones skin or hair...

-okay, enough with the sorrowful diatribe-

though i am sad to have completed my schooling, i also see it as the close to a chapter in my life to self-improvement. I've come to believe that my decision in going to Cosmetology school was one of the best things i ever decided to do for myself. to be surrounded by people with such passion and creativity was intimidating and inspiring all at once to the point it could be overwhelming. Cosmo school has also given me challenges that I know I would never received and overcame had I continued working in the job i had before I decided to go to school.

i also know that i wouldn't have been able to graduate had i not had the love and support of these wonderful people...

-my parents-

thank you for always saying you were proud of me in what I've accomplished and showing happiness in my success as well as always praying for me and believing in me.

-my sisters-

thank you for always coming in for me to work on you, even though we bickered, we always had more laughs than i can even remember and it helped make memorable days at my school

-my grandparents-

thank you for always being so readily available to pick up the babies from school on the days that i was in school.

-my in laws-

thank you for allowing us to live with you so that i could pursue my dream to start a new career in a profession that i LOVE!

-my babies-

thank you for always loving mommy through this long journey and always greeting me with a smile when i come home from a long day at school

-my instructors-

Ms. Renee, Mr. Joe, Ms. Kim and Ms. Belinda - i have learned so much from you and i am so grateful because this knowledge will be the tools that i use to take care of my family as i go out into the world. everything that you have taught me is invaluable and i am so grateful to have had all of you as my teachers!

and last but not least...

-my hubby-

thank you so much, my love for always having faith in me, even when i didn't have enough in myself. thank you for putting up with the tears of frustration, listening to my rants of OCD-perfectionism, hugging me when i was upset and rejoicing with me when i accomplished a particularly hard obstacle. this year was definitely a hard one, but i totally agree with you in that this is the happiest we have ever been because you put me first and wanted me to be happy over all. thank you for working so hard to provide for this family AND give me all the things that i wanted and needed -but mostly wanted- for school and for myself. i am truly blessed to have a wonderful ride-or-die man protecting and loving me as good as you do!

now... State Board... i hope you're ready for me, cuz here i come. ;-)

a quick glance at 13-months and 1600 hours in Cosmo school




First Day of School!



how i learned that i HATE doing nails... lol

gotta get your head in the game...


first of many friends


first full on haircut...back when i was afraid to cut hair




i will CT you!




coloring outside the lines!


cutting off my hair for my current style


Long Beach Hair Show


GRADUATION DAY! oh what a JOURNEY it has been!