YSL Rouge Volupte #17 "Red Muse" Lipstick Swatch + Review

 AHH! I finally cracked again and bought another YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick. It's been about a year since I picked up Sensual Silk and Forbidden Burgundy and I figured it was about time to get a different shade. Because these are easily the best lipsticks I have ever tried--bar none. I normally don't like making claims like these because I find it hard to find a product that works in every situation but this is one of the products. It is very expensive retailing at $34 for .14 fl ounces.

Stila "Pomegranate Crush" Lip & Cheek Stain Swatch + Review

An exciting package from Apothica.com came in the mail this weekend. Inside were a ton of goodies that would make any beauty junkie giddy but the Stila "Pomegranate Crush" Lip & Cheek Stain was one of the products I was most looking forward to testing. Mostly because I had never tried a Stila product but I've heard so many great things about the brand as a whole. This product retails for $24.00 and contains .08 fl ounces.

Maybelline Color Whisper "Cherry On Top" Lip Color Swatch + Review

Agh! I have finally got my hands on one of the new Maybelline Color Whispers! It was a belated Valentine's Day gift from my little sister (along with a One Direction cup and pink fuzzy cat socks). Only more proof that my sister knows me so well.

Maybelline describes the Color Whisper line as "truly translucent gel color" that gives the lips "sexy, soft, see through color" with "no heavy waxes or oils...just a kiss of shine". To begin with, Maybelline released twenty shades ranging for a soft nude to a bold plum.

OPI "Suzi's Hungary AGAIN!" Swatch + Review

three coats, natural light

I hope that everyone enjoyed the OPI Euro Centrale mini-review/sneak peak I posted on Monday. And like I said I was going to do in that post, I am here to review one of the polishes in full. As you can probably tell from the picture above, OPI "Suzi's Hungary AGAIN!" is a very bright and very bold pink (almost coral) color. I immediately feel in love with this color when I saw it in the store. I couldn't' resist picking it up. Looking back, if I'd had to leave one polish at the store it probably would've been this one. Not because there was anything wrong with the formulation (like almost every OPI nail polish I've every tried, this one is opaque and smooth) but the color is similar to a couple colors that I already own. It is a color that I've seen before but don't hesitate to snatch it up if you have nothing like this in your collection.

OPI EURO Centrale Collection: Sneak Peak + Favorite Colors

From left to right: Suzi's Hungray AGAIN!, You're Such a BudaPest, Can't Find My Czechbook, Polka.com, OPI Eurso...Euro

It is that time again. Yes. OPI has released another collection and I can honestly say that I think this is one of the best collections they've released in a really, really long time. I was not able to pick up all the twelve colors but I did pick up the five pictured above. I was also tempted to pick up "My Paprika is Hotter than Yours" but I had to put my foot down somewhere. All of the colors that I bought are PERFECT for spring and especially for summer. Although I'd seen the collection online I wasn't excited until I saw them in-stores. The stock photos I saw online did not do any of these colors justice--making them appear more pastel and soft than the vibrant shades they actually are.

Sephora By OPI "Henna-Thing Is Possible" Swatch + Review

two coats, natural light

I already did two nail polish reviews this week. Why not make it three? Sephora By OPI "Henna-Thing Is Possible" is easily becoming one my new favorites. It is this bright fuchsia color in the daylight but under less ideal lighting the bluish-purple micro (and I mean micro) shimmer gives it a deeper purple appearance. It was a bit difficult to capture accurately on film but I think I finally managed to do the job with the picture above. Over winter break I wore this color for two weeks straight. I walked around my house in these super-warm fuzzy socks and my computer (which both happen to be the same color as this nail polish) and felt like a total rock-star. After taking a moment to re-read that last statement, I realize how utterly ridiculous I sound. But don't blame me, blame my nail polish junkie tendencies.

Now, onto to the pros and cons. The nail polish lasted about five/six days before serious chipping settled in. This isn't amazing (I was hoping for a bit more because Sephora By OPI polishes are on the expensive side) but this is about average for high-end nail polishes. The formulation was smooth and easy to apply. Opacity was great. Overall, I am extremely impressed. As you can probably tell from the picture above, this isn't a full-sized bottle. I actually got it from one of those Sephora gift sets ages ago but never gave it a try until recently. I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before I buy a full-sized bottle because...I really, really love this color.

Chat with me on twitter! Check out my second blog! What nail polish are you loving at the moment? Leave a comment below!

Julep "Parker" Swatch + Review

four coats, natural light

Another NOTD post? What? So soon? I know it's crazy. And the fact that they both happen to be Julep nail polishes is just an odd coincidence. After wearing Julep "Jessica" for two weeks straight I figured that it was time to mix it up a bit. The best way for me to describe Julep "Parker" is a slightly lighter Crayola crayon orange. It is bold and bright color. Just the thing to inspire me to study for my midterms--or so I thought. I never used to wear orange nail polish but recently, thanks to Zoella (who loves the color orange), I have begun to have a new appreciation for the color. It is still one of my least favorite colors to paint my nails but at least it is no longer my least favorite color. That's an improvment, right?

In my review for Julep "Jessica" I mentioned that I have a love-hate relationship with Julep nail polish. "Jessica" was a strong mark in the love category and unfortunately "Parker" is an equally strong mark in the hate category. It was very thick and I found that I was having a lot of problems getting a opaque and smooth finish. It was blobby and wouldn't settle across my nails like most nail polishes do. It was just werid. The color is nice enough. It's bright and bold and the more I wear it, the more I liked it.

However, the weird formulation and the amount of effort it took to get the polish to look decent on my nails certainly made it impossible for me to write a positive review in the end. Julep polishes are high end polishes(costing $14 per bottle). It is not too much to expect that the polishes apply easily. "Parker" is not such a unique color that it would be difficult finding something similar for a much better price.  Final thoughts? I'm not impressed. My appreciation for orange nail polish is growing but if you want to add a color to your orange nail polish collection--don't pick this one. It is not worth the money.

Chat with me on twitter! Check out my book and movie reviews on my second blog! Leave a comment below! Do you like orange nail polish? What are you wearing on your nails?

Julep "Jessica" Swatch + Review

two coats, natural light

It has been too long since I did a NOTD. Much, much, much too long. Considering the content on my blog it would be nearly impossible for anyone to conclude that I am, in fact, an open nail polish junkie. And by nail polish junkie I mean someone with entirely too much nail polish (Wait! Is that even possible?) but still continues to buy more. This was actually a present that I bought for my sister this past Christmas...but after seeing her wear it, I became obsessed. And, being the lovely and gernous sister that she is, she allowed me to wear it and swatch it for my blog.

I have had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Julep nail polishes. It is really hit-or-miss and I find it hard for me to spend so much money on something that isn't a sure thing. These are not cheap--retailing at about $14 at Sephora or a Julep.com (although as I'm writing this post it is out of stock!). But despite all my mixed feelings I've had with Julep nail polishes in the past, I ADORE "Jessica"! It isn't as thick as some of the Julep polishes I've used in the past but it's still super opaque. I probably only had to apply one coat for full coverage but I applied two just in case. And I wasn't the only one who thought this color was stunning. I can't begin to count all the compliments I got. I mean...look at it! It is the perfect it's-winter-but-I-want-it-to-be-spring nail polish. It's the best of both worlds.

But if you are drawn to this color and would like to use this as your perfect it's-winter-but-I-want-it-to-be-spring nail polish be aware that it chips like crazy. I had it on for only about thirty-six hours or so before I lost my entire right pointer finger (obviously, not my actually finger but all of the nail polish on my right pointer finger). It was only a matter of days before the rest of my fingers followed suit. But despite it's short life-span, I still love it and I still recommend it.

Chat with me on twitter! Check out my other blog where I review books and movies! Leave a comment below! P.S. How do you guys like the quality of the photo? I used to do all my pictures with my iPhone but I have since upgraded to a Canon Rebel T3i.