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Barry M Nail Paint in Countess and Blood Orange

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Barry M Nail Paint

I got these awesome Barry M nail paints from my swap with Laala! I had never tried them out before, but I always see them in blogs, since I follow quite a few UK-based ones and everyone seems to love these. Laala says that these are probably her favorite nail polish formulas, after Chanel, and that sounds pretty freaking awesome to me. She got me a red shade (Blood Orange) from their Gelly line and a super freaking pretty glitter/textured shade (Countess) from a limited edition collection called Royal Glitter. Anyway, it is beautiful. It looks brown in the bottle, but on the nails it is a magic color.

Barry M Polishes - Countess, Blood Orange - Nails

… Apologies for this pitiful picture, lol. The brushes on these splay out a little, which is a bit hard because my nails are exceptionally small. However, they are perfectly fine brushes. I wore both so I can test them equally, and over a base coat, this formula lasted pretty long. Only my right index finger showed any signs of wear as I was vigorously scrubbing some makeup jars that I needed to clean.

Countess is honestly amazing. It was literal love at first swipe for me. ❤

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& Other Stories loot and reviews from my swap with Laala

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And Other Stories Loot

My body is all a-tingle!

Several months ago, I stumbled upon a new brand under H&M called & Other Stories, which had its own cosmetics line. That was so well-designed that I MUST HAVE THEM. Sadly, they are not available in the US, which is a country from which I can order from pretty easily, so I shoved all most of my desire for it deep down my throat and looked at the other pretties. I posted about a swap with Laala, and this is actually where it all began. In her letter, she mentioned that a lot of stuff was gone by the time she got to the counters (since it was the holiday season), but I think she got me a bunch of great stuff, actually, all of which I will attempt to give a fair review in a single post. For reasons. Read More

Monthly Favorites: February 2014

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Just a few this time around! I was super busy (insanely) this month, so I didn’t have a lot of time for, you know, beauty experiments. I even lapsed my daily update blog schedule and haven’t been replying to comments. 😦 Bad. That is one ‘beauty resolution’ for March. Prompt comment replies!

Anyway, here are the beauty things I’ve been loving last month:

February Favorites

NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette — This is made of dreams, you guys. You know, I like putting on makeup and playing, so I can’t revert to an eyeshadow duo for one reliable look for an entire month. Which is why this palette is great. Color combinations come to you almost thoughtlessly, but you still get a lot of room to play around in. I used this for most of the month, but you can read my initial thoughts here. (Also, yes, I wrote the shade names on the transparent paper cover it comes with.)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette — I played around a lot with this last month, more than when I initially got it. I have to say that it’s a great all-arounder and travel companion. I used it on my Poreless Face Base post, and I have to say that the whole palette has grown on me from the initial review.

BECCA Resurfacing Primer — Another underdog. I’ve been singing praises for the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer—my holy grail primer—and this one barely gets any attention. I broke this out and used it a lot this month, and I have to say I am incredibly pleased with it. I used it on the Poreless Face Base post as well, but you can read my initial review here.

MAC Paint Pot (Painterly) — A great neutral eyeshadow base I use in lieu of primer. It works excellently and I love it.

Illamasqua Cream Blusher (Promise) — Beautiful light pinky blush that I am in love with. I think it’s a great change from all the warm or neutral blushes I tend to favor. The only con is that I’m not sure how long it lasts. More about that on my review here.

NARS, Hourglass, BECCA, and Illamasqua are cruelty-free. MAC does not test on animals except when required by law.

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Psst, Your Hoarder is Showing: Stuff I Got from Geek Chic Cosmetics

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Geek Chic - First Order
Oops. Someone went a little overboard.

I bought a total of 28 eyeshadows from Geek Chic Cosmetics. They’re an indie company that appeals to the geek in me. Much like Shiro Cosmetics (which I love, as you already know), Geek Chic makes collections based on geekery like Harry Potter and Doctor Who. A number of indies actually base their collections of of movies and shows, but Geek Chic’s selection is pretty extensive.

So this is what happened, heh.

Geek Chic - Clamshell

I ordered 27 samples, and they came in clamshells like this. A lot of people hate this packaging and I can see why. It’s tricky to open (I just do it carefully, securing the ‘base’ half firmly on the table and opening the top half carefully) and also tricky to use since the lid tends to close on itself. When you close, you leave behind a puff of product. It’s alright, though. I can live with it.

For swatches, I’ve divided everything by collection and in parts. I hope this makes things easier to find on the website in case you want to purchase anything.

Geek Chic - Part I - Swatches

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Project 10 Pan Update + Project Make-a-Dent

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Hey all, just an update on my Project 10 Pan post from a month ago. I know it seems to early to have an update already, but a lot of the things I picked out were old, so I ended up crossing stuff out from my list pretty early.

P10P - Empties
The empties are:
— Majolica Majorca Lash King mascara: I’m pretty generous with giving mascara time, but this one smelled a little funkier the last time I used it, so into the bin it goes.
Eye of Horus Natural Mascara*: Tossing because old.
Maybelline The Hypercurl Mascara*: It dried out already, sniff.
— K-Palette Liquid Eyeliner in 01: The unthinkable happened! I used up a beauty product. Granted, it’s a liquid eyeliner I’ve had for well over a year, but still. It totally counts.
Ahava Essential Day Moisturizer*: One of the best, lightweight moisturizers I’ve ever used. Perfect for daily use. Read More

London/Bahrain Swap with Laala of Intermittent Makeup

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I met my friend Laala a few years ago on Tumblr, through a friend (Zet). At the time, I had no interest in makeup at all, so what we had in common was a love for literature and reading. Years later, we have another thing in common—getting bitten by the beauty bug. She blogs over at Intermittent Makeup and I’ve featured here on Nosy Beauty already.

Since she was going on a trip to London, she thought of getting me a few things from & Other Stories, since she knew I was salivating over looking to try a few things from them. We ended up agreeing to a budget and do a swap instead!

This is what she ended up giving me:

Swap - Bits

A pretty London-themed tote // Laura Mercier Hand Crème in Crème Brûlée // & Other Stories Eye Colour in Percaline Khaki // & Other Stories Blush in Canvas Taupe // Barry M (Gelly) Nail Paint in Blood Orange // Barry M Nail Paint in Countess // a few pumps of Burberry Foundation in Trench No. 5 // & Other Stories Brow Pencil in Bouclé Greige // & Other Stories Body Wash in Fig Fiction // Arabic Perfume Oil (!!!) // Vaseline Lip Therapy in Aloe Vera // Sleek Blush in Coral // Dior Addict Lip Glow // NARS Lipstick in Niagara // MUA Power Pout in Runway // Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance Lipstick in Bold

Swap Letter

Then, I got a letter, a note, some foxy socks and some special dates (!!!), which was pretty cool.

And Other Stories - Canvas Taupe - Label

Sadly, Canvas Taupe reached me all shattered. I’m currently testing everything because omg so much stuff. If there is something here that you’re eager to for me to review, do let me know!

I’m sending Laala’s package out tomorrow (I am the worst), and I can’t wait for her to get it! Thank you, Laala, for being patient and generous. 🙂 I hope you like everything I got you.

Trying on Illamasqua Pure Pigments

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I grabbed two shades of the Illamasqua Pure Pigment from the aforementioned holiday sale. Pigments are definitely not high up on my list of “things to try,” but these popped up on my radar when Bea of The Dalaga Project made a beautiful look with the shade Incite and unknowingly proceeded tempt meh with other looks using the popular Ore. I don’t think the two other shades were included in the sale, and I resolved to only buy things that were which explains the lack of lipsticks and palettes, so I ended up with Furore and Static. These were priced £7.50 each, down from £16.50.

Illamasqua Pure Pigments - Static and Furore

I am in love with the packaging. It has a sort of pinched square shape that Illamasqua is known for. The lid kind of just fits on the container, and the product is dispensed via a small hole in the center. The lid has a small “stopper” on the inside that’s meant to prevent the pigment from flying out and about but customers have complained about it. I don’t really care much, but I can see why they might be pissed off by that. I wouldn’t bring this for travel, but then again, I wouldn’t bring any loose makeup on a trip, no matter how great the packaging seems. Read More