Monday, November 29, 2010

Is Wet N' Wild Vanity a Cheap Version of Urban Decay Naked ?


I will be shortly reviewing and swatching the full Urban Decay Naked Palette, but when i first got it, i thought it looked a little similar to something i previously own and lovee - the wet n' wild palette in Vanity! which i have to say, is my all time favorite drugstore palette :) 

anyways, i just had to compare and see for myself :) read on to see if its actually similar or not!



see... it looks a little similar doesnt it?


wnw palette in vanity ♥

however, when swatched... they dont look so similar no more :(


trying to match up colors
urban decay on left side, wnw on right

urban decay on top - virgin, sin, buck, half baked, hustle
wnw on bottom


urban decay on top - virgin, sin, buck, half baked, hustle, smog
wnw on bottom

some closer up pictures
urban decay on left, wnw on right
bottom to top - virgin, sin, buck

as you can see, virgin has more of a slight shimmer to it, whereas wnw's shade is completely flat out matte. as a result, these two vary slightly in texture and shade.. going up one shade, you can also see that sin has much more pink undertones whereas the wnw's shade is a white gold. now at first, you might find that virgin's more similar to wnw's white gold... however, take another look at the above pictures with flash, not so close anymore right? :(

verdict so far: not even close to being a dupe hahaha.

urban decay on left, wnw on right
bottom to top - buck, half baked

buck was the shade that i swear wnw had a dupe for, but unfortunately.. when swatched, buck has a slight darker and almost greener undertone. (look at above pictures to see a real big diff) half baked is also nowhere near being duped as it is more of a gorgeous brown gold whereas wnw's shade is straight up gold.

verdict so far: nope, not close as al!!

urban decay on left, wnw on right
bottom to top - hustle, smog

the darkest matte shade in the naked palette was buck, so i tried the next closest shimmery shade, hustle. and you can obviously tell that its not even close to the darkness of wnw's shade, let alone the fact thats its not matte!! smog is probably the shade that looks somewhat similar.. yet with flash, these shades have slightly different undertones. so once again, it fails to be a dupe

overall verdict: wnw's vanity is definitely not a dupe for urban decay's naked palette, nor can it be considered similar in shades!!

lesson learned? i fail at making dupe assumptions

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however.... if you really cant shell out the big bucks for urban decay's palette, but am still looking for a neutral palette that could provide you with neutral looks, glamours golds and smokey browns.. then i highly recommend you consider wet n' wild's vanity! it really is amazing!

the shadows are buttery soft and very very well pigmented! definitely up to par with urban decays on that bit if i must say so myself! Now of course, the biggest difference between the two, is that if you're looking for more unique shades that you really cant describe with one word, go with urban decay. if you're looking for basic shades that can still provide you with similar looks, go with wnw.

overall, im glad i have and own both :) i love them both and will use them equally as much! here are the swatches for wnw's vanity :) i also have wnw's palettes in Pride and Lust and am desperately searching for their holiday collections (which i cant find in canada!) i'll swatch those shortly so you can see how amazing they are!





anyways, i hope the swatches helped. kind of embarassing how i thought these two could ever be even close in shades... but oh well, mistakes are there to be made! how would i have known there was such a big difference if i didnt try it for myself! :D i'll be posting the full swatches for the urban decay naked palette shortly.. but for now, got another date with my clarisonic! i am really loving this thing! (and yup, working on the review for that too!)

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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Got a date with my Clarisonic ♥

Hi! Hope everyone's black Friday went well! (and i hope you all didnt spend TOO much money lol) anyways, if you follow me on twitter, you probably heard my excited tweeds about a huge package I received a day or two ago! Inside of course was my new baby pink clarisonic!! I really have to admire clarisonic for their super fast shipping, I think I placed my order not even a week ago, add in the snowy and icy roads and all, im surprised it came so fast!


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Here's my new pink clarisonic classic ♥  :) so preeeety!


yay :)

and i got it engraved for free too :)


Now, the weirdest thing about all this, was that my mom had called me telling me that the ups guy had left this package under our doormat!! Not considering the fact that this package cost me quite a bit of money, but have you seen the size of this box?


Here it is next to a water bottle, this thing is huge! And if I were to walk by my house, I think it'd be pretty obvious theres something under our doormat! I just wish I was home to actually see it because I still don't believe that happened!




Anyways... I'm sure you all know what happens next.......


I unwrap my box, scream in delight to see my new baby toy in PINK, take out everything else (including my bf's grey clarisonic which by the way, looks super cool lol) as always, pictures tell a thousand words.. so heres a couple thousand :)


unwrapping of boxes! its been a long year, i need an early christmas!

bfs & mine  ♥


closer up pic, all wrapped up :)


note, the grey  clarisonic comes with a normal brushhead (grey), the pink comes with a sensitive brushhead (white)


kit included:
clarisonic classic, cradle, lid for brush, 3 cleansers
eww.. haha i wonder if my makeup's that trapped :(

3 sample cleansers
refreshing gel, gentle hydro, nourishing care

and a free gift for purchasing on their website!
a full sized gently hydro cleanser plus a sensitive brush head (blue) and a normal one (grey)


and then, i take a quick peek at the manual and bam! What do I see?




"Prior to the first use,
charge the Clarisonic handle for 24 hours."


Now I know, I dd my research prior to buying this set and I knew there would be this dreaded 24 hr charge before I could start using it.. But a part of me kept pushing that off to the side in hopes that it wasnt true lol that maybe I could charge it for a few hours first, use it for ONE minute, then let it charge all it wants until the next morn lol. Unfortunately, that's not how it works! So to be good, I let it charge on my desk, and trust me, its hard not to look at it with it's green lights flashing :(


charging... the green lights are actually flashing lol


btw.. i got the skin care duo (grey & pink) which saved me $50! PLUS i got the free full sized cleanser & 2 extra brushheads ($30 value) PLUS clarisonic had a "LGFB" (look good feel better) sale which gave me 15% off on top of that! so no,
im not "baller"! :)

Well, one whole day later, I think it's finally ready! The green lights have stopped flashing and in ready to test it out! Bad news is, I'll have to save my initial review for a couple days later because I'll be busy at school tmr :( I know, school on sat? University sucks! Lol but to keep you motivated, here, keep looking at pictures :) isn't it preeeety? Hahaha




  Oh and here's my naked palette!  ♥
This is as far as I got to playing with it, just overall product pictures :( gotta save swatching and using for another day :( boooooooooooo



Okay! Time for a date with my clarisonic, hope things turn out well! ;) wish us luck!  ♥

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btw... dont forget to enter my giveaway for a karmin g3 flat iron worth $130! being a follower counts as 1 entry ! just fill out the form and you'll be entered :D

Friday, November 26, 2010

Black Friday Sales!

Happy Black Friday to everyone!
This time of the year, is when i most wish that i lived in the states.. you guys literally get everything better for cheaper and its not fair! haha but enough complaining.. here are some deals that are going on for black friday as well as some that we (canadians or any other international ppl) can still take advantage of.. online!


1. Sigma Makeup!

Im hoping to make my order sooooon because shipping to canada is around $5-10 + depending on how much you order :)

Dont forget... click the picture below to go directly to their site and start ordering!


2.Stila Cosmetics (US Only)

Starting with Black Friday, Stila is offering an AMAZING gift with purchases over $50. The gift is a set of Stila BEST-SELLERS (valued at $104) for FREE! And of course, shoppers always get free shipping when they spend $50 or more.  (Offer is for one day only).

stila black friday happy hour

Starting Cyber Monday, November 29th, Stila will be having it's second annual ONLINE WAREHOUSE SALE! We are offering up to 80% off hundreds of Stila products including: Smudge Sticks (certain shades), Eye Shadow Pans (certain shades), Lip Glazes (certain shades), Tinted Moisturizers and MORE!

stila online warehouse sale - up to 80% off!


3. ELF Cosmetics

Black Friday Deal: Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Plus Free Shipping on orders over $30. Valid with coupon code BCGBOGO50 from 11/25  through 11/27. Click here.

e.l.f. Cyber Monday Deal: 55% Off site-wide with $25 purchase. Valid with coupon BCG55 from 11/28 through 11/30. Click here.

4. Coastal Scents


5. Town Shoes




  6. Cherry Culture

 7. Sephora


 8. Z Palette

Purchase any size or design Z Palette and get 20% OFF*
Use code THANKS1. offer excludes pre-cut magnetic adhesives

 9. Sedona Lace


Free Domestic shipping,  use promo code: freeship. Plus 3 lucky orders will receive free brush sets!! 
10. PInkboxJewelry
(note, this is not related to pinkboxmakeup haha, although i love the coincidence!)
 
Jenny at TickleMyHeartPink has been making some special jewelry for her black friday sale! take 30% off earrings, 20% off everything else! Plus, free shipping to US and Canada and a free gift as well! Click here.


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thats it for now! i'll keep adding if i find more! happy shopping everyone! :D
 
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Monday, November 22, 2010

My Collection Series Pt 2 - Coral Blushes!

Part two of "My Collection" series focuses on my coral blushes.. if you've been a follower since i first started this little blog, you might know that i have a HUGE addiction for blushes! i just think they are the prettiest things ever and they all have such a gorgeous color that i cant seem to get enough of them! :D

middle - ELF Coral
Clockwise starting with the white pan -
 Hard Candy Honeymoon, NYX Dare, MAC Stereo Rose, ELF Candid Coral, ELF Blush/Bronzer duo

Here are the swatches for all of the blushes pictured above:


Honeymoon, Coral, Candid Coral, Blush duo, Dare, Stereo Rose

Honeymoon, Coral, Candid Coral, Blush duo, Dare, Stereo Rose

Honeymoon, Coral, Candid Coral, Blush duo, Dare, Stereo Rose

a slightly better picture of Coral


time for each blushes's 5 seconds of fame! first up is ELF's Candid Coral
click here for my review and a better swatch :p
I mustve rambled on and on about this before, but did i tell you how much i love ELF's studio blushes? They are super soft and pigmented and only go for $3 each! Candid coral is lovely warm coral which isnt too over the top. its got a tad slight pink undertone which makes it less orangey and more wearable :) You can also see the slight shimmers in the pan, but when applied, it just shows as a gorgeous glow! so dont worry, no crazy glitter invovled here!


next up, another ELF product! this one's their mineral blush in Coral



(2nd shade up)

Coral is a gorgeous matte light peach. Although when swatched it can lean towards the lighter side, this blush can definitely be built up through layers to give you that nice peachy shade. I would recommend that those with darker skintones pass on this as a blush though.. because it is lighter than you'd expect and it might turn up a tad ashy on darker skins.


Last ELF one for this post, their blush and bronzer duo!


 

This product has been an ongoing dupe for NARS orgasm and laguna duo.. and im sure you all know that! But for me, i do think the blush here is more peachy than orgasm. At first, i had stuck NARS orgasm in with this post because i thought it leaned slightly toward corals rather than pinks. However, after swatching and comparing the two side by side, i realized that orgasm has more pink undertones than peach!

quick comparison, NARS orgasm on left, ELF blush duo on right 

Anyways, back to the ELF blush! this peachy shade is a gorgeous warm peach filled with shimmers. I found that this blush was more pigmented than NARS as well so if you cant afford the cult classic, i'd highly highly recommend this one! Just make sure you know that this leans more on peach then pink :)

Next blush in line... is Hard Candy's Honeymoon!

Im not sure if you've seen my previous review (read here) or the previous snapshots of it applied on my cheeks along with its partner in crime: living doll (see here), but this blush has now become my staple highlighter shade! i loveee the peachy sheen of this blush and although it can be built up to be a gorgeous light peach shade for a blush, i'd much rather use it as a highlight due to its high shimmer factor! Those with pale skintones can definitely pull this off as a blush, something i am highly jealous of!! The only slight downside is that this blush is less pigmented so you do need a couple swipes before you see that gorgeous shine!


and of course, the highly expected cult classic, MAC Stereo Rose!


see initial review and swatches here
This blush is as gorgeous as it looks in pan! Depending on how much veining you get in yours, this blush can vary slightly with some appearing darker than others. I think mine has just the right amount as the product shows up as a nice orangey coral shade that is just right for my skintone :) Like hard candy's honeymoon, this products got a gorgeous sheen/shimmer to it! :) Now, in contrast to honeymoon, you'll have to watch out for a heavy hand! Like all MAC products, the pigmentation on this is insane, so i'd recommend a light hand and just build up to your desiered shade.

how orange is it you may ask? take a look :)


Finally, NYX's dare, a shade i fell in love with for the fall season


You mightve seen my inital review or even the snapshots of this applied on my cheeks (see here), but i am in love with this mix of colors! First off, i love the versatality of thhis blush, i know its hard to really adjust how much of each shade you pick up, but hey, you get an option! I like to mix this all together for a gorgeous light coppery coral-ly shade that is a lighter version of stereo rose! :)

Anyways, thats it for coral blushes! Sorry the lighting isnt the greatest for these pictures.. i've been busy with/at school and usually when i get around to swatching, all that good sunlight's gone :( i still hope you get the idea of what these blushes look like because they are all absolutely gorgeous for the fall/winter season! 

worst case, i think i have done previous reviews and swatches for most, if not all, above blushes so go take a look :) have a great day and for those in the snowy areas, drive safe!!
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