Curlformers Review

(I've cut my hair since this review but I wanted to share it anyway.)

I saw these while shopping at Sally's Beauty Supply and I thought I'd give them a try. I usually don't like curling my hair that often because of all the heat damage and the time consumption, so I decided to try these out. They're called "Curlformers" and if you buy the kit you get a little hook that comes with it as opposed to buying it separately.

They're fairly easy to use once you get the hang of it and can be done fairly quickly. They're not the worst thing to sleep in either.

The price on the Sally's Beauty Supply webiste (www.sallybeauty.com) is $69.99, or $63.99 with a Sally's club card. In the kit you get two sets of medium sized curlers and set of short small curlers as well and even if you have A TON of hair, there will be more than enough curlers leftover.

The only thing I did not like about this product is that when I take the curlers out of my hair in the morning, the curls are so tight and springy that I feel more like Shirley Temple than 27 year old woman. But with some de-frizzing serum and a little bit of spray in conditioner, I'm able to tame and style it into a nice updo or side ponytail with lots of curls.

The curls hold well throughout the next day if you don't plan on washing them out right away and I had pretty "waterfall curls" after some of the springiness had fallen out.

My hair is coarse usually has a hard time maintaining a curl, but these worked rather well.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of my hair the day after but the two pictures I did take of my hair are from two days after using the Curlformers.

These are a great alternative to curling your hair without a curling iron or flat iron and I would suggest them to anyone who is looking for a healthier, less damaging way to curl their hair.

You can also buy Curlformers from www.curlformers.com. I just happened to get mine from Sally's.

Hope you enjoyed this review!

 *pictures are mine. please do not steal. picture of model using Curlformers are from the Curlformers website where you can also buy pieces separately if needed.*

Almay's Purple Amethyst Mascara Review

So I bought a mascara made by Almay, called "Purple Amethyst". It's part of their line that's supposed to enhance the color of your eyes.

I tried it and I have to say that it's only so-so for me. I'm not extremely impressed by it. I have short lashes and the description on the packaging says it's supposed to volumize and lengthen. My lashes still look short, just with mascara on. And I don't know if it's my make up and the colors I used, but you can hardly tell I have purple mascara on.

Also, the little thing on the inside of the opening of the mascara tube that pulls off the excess mascara (sorry, don't know the name of it, LOL) ends up pulling off too much so you're only left with the mascara brush rather than the actual mascara.

So this product might okay for those lovely women with the long lashes, and not looking for too much color (although that was the point in buying this mascara), but if you're looking for something to brighten and lengthen and volumize as promised, you're better off sticking with Benefit or Urban Decay which are the mascaras I use when I want to thicken and lengthen my lashes.

Halloween/Day of the Dead

Okay, so I know this is a little late, but in honor of Dia de Los Muertos and All Hallow's Eve...

I wanted to share a look I created for my friend. She approached me with the idea of doing a Sugar Skull look for Halloween and as we talked and went more into detail, we decided on doing half of her face in the Sugar Skull/Day of the Dead look, and the other we'd an almost pinup girl like look.

I used a combo of Halloween store cream makeup and my Sugarpill loose shadows with a mixing medium and this is what we came up with.

and also a quick photo op for both of us. ;-)

Hope you like this quick look. :-)

you can buy Sugarpill cosmetics at: www.sugarpill.net

*pictures are mine. please do not steal*

Sugarpill Overdose

So I decided to do a colorful look with a gradient brow. I saw it done by this chick called Nymphette (who I think is total eye candy/rockstar and you can check out her website atwww.iamnymphette.com) and I thought, "Wow! What a fun look!" So I tried it out.

I used my Sugarpill pallets and I used Poison Plum (purple) Afterparty (blue) and Dollipop (pink).

It was definitely a fun look and much brighter than what I would usually do.

On my lips I wore MAC's "Pink Nouveaux" because I was feeling kinda Nicki Minaj-like with all the brightness I had going on.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the look. Definitely one I'll try again.

You can check out my review on Sugarpill here:

http://chaselovemakeupartistry.blogspot.com/2011/07/sugarpill-cosmetics-swatchreview.html

And you can also buy Sugarpill Cosmetics at: www.sugarpill.net

*pictures are mine. do not steal*

Ichiban Joyas Handmade Jewelry Review

I'm part of a makeup group on Facebook called "Makeup For Everyone!" (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/makeupforeveryone/), and everyday, wonderful and amazing women post their latest stashes/hauls/finds and and whatnot. One of the women in our group posted about her cousin who creates handmade jewelry, key chains and figurines.

After one particular necklace she made caught my eye, I decided to check out her page on www.etsy.com.

Her shop name is called "Ichiban Joyas", but the creator's name is Jenn Ramirez and she makes her pretties out of colored polymer clay, which after shaping she fires to harden and then adds a glaze to give it that lovely shine. Her collection ranges in styles from steampunk and gothic, to sparkly and pretty. When I found out she also makes custom jewelry, I decided to contact her via her Facebook page to see what she would charge for a custom cameo necklace.

After contacting her first, she made sure to email me right away and we got to talking about what I had in mind for my custom pendant. After several emails back and forth, relaying my idea to her and her grasping my concept very quickly, she worked on my piece and emailed me a picture of what she'd done within a couple days. (I'm a hair stylist with a little punk rock flair, so I wanted my piece to express my personality.) When I gave her the okay on our collaborative design, she fired and glazed it and sent me the link to purchase it. I bought my custom necklace for $22.50 including shipping. After buying it, I received my purchase within the next few days.

From initial contact to actually opening my package, it took about one week. Not bad turn over if you ask me.

I received my package in a padded yellow envelope, complete with invoice and my necklace came in a little box wrapped in tissue. Through correspondence, Jenn had asked whether I wanted to have my pendant on a 16" doubled up ribbon or 16" chain. I chose the chain but she graciously included the ribbon in my package.

I wore it to work the next day and received so many compliments and made sure to recommend Jenn and her treasures to all of my coworkers.

From correspondence, to execution, to delivery and actually seeing and holding my pendant necklace, I can say that I am extremely pleased and so happy with my purchase. She is definitely someone I would buy from again.

you can also contact her on her Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ichiban-Joyas/190003832236

*pictures are my own. please do not steal*

please check out my other review at http://www.luuux.com/fashion/ichiban-joyas-handmade-jewelry-review

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!!!