American Apparel For My Nails

Hi everyone! It's been a long while but it sure feels good to be back! I've been bogged down with school and haven't had a chance to write until now. There are also tons of blogs on my blog feed waiting to be read. It's a nice change to be reading blog posts instead of my textbooks, though soon I have to dive right back into the books since final exams are coming up in a little under 2 weeks. Thanks for all of your supportive comments! It's so nice to come on blogger and see all your sweet words. <3 It definitely helps encourage me to get through this last month before I reach FREEDOM! We're almost there! ;)

So lately, these have been the newest loves of my life. I'm not sure why I didn't discover them earlier, but ever since I got these, I've been wearing them non-stop! 

American Apparel - Dynasty

This is the first colour I tried from their collection. I'm not really sure how to describe the colour, but it's definitely different from anything I already own.

I've always known that American Apparel makes nail polishes, but who knew they were such good quality?! I wasn't expecting much at all, but I actually found that I like the formula of these a lot. They are smooth, easy to apply, and I only needed 2 coats to get the colour and finish I want. Not bad at all!

American Apparel - Factory Grey

This is an amazing colour! If you follow me on Twitter, you probably heard me raving about it before.

It's an interesting shade of cream grey because while it looks like any regular grey polish with hints of blue/purple in certain lighting, it  gives off a really strong purple hue in other lighting.

American Apparel - Factory Grey

This is the best photo I could capture of the purple hue I was talking about. This was taken with flash so in real life it doesn't come off as such a bright purple.

American Apparel - Mouse

This is a pretty taupe-grey shade and this colour is right up my alley!

One of my all-time favourite colours is "Metro Chic" from Sephora by OPI. When I was told that "Mouse" was a lighter version of it, I totally had to check it out and was curious to compare the colours.

Comparison of all four colours.

Dynasty is nothing like the others and doesn't quite fit in, hence the sad face. I just threw it in for fun. I do like how Mouse looks but I still like Metro Chic more. Factory Grey has really grown on me and it just might replace Metro Chic at the top of my favourites! We'll see as time goes by. ;)

*************

Overall, I'm really happy to have found this collection. They offer a total of 18 different shades, all cream-based which I like, and so far I like the looks of most of the colours. You can check see for yourself online:
American Apparel

Some of the colours look similar to others I've already seen from other brands, but at the same time, they're different enough to catch my interest. I'm looking forward to stocking up on a couple more of their colours, especially the brighter ones. I feel like with Spring here, it's time to switch things up to some brighter colours. What do you think?

What are some of your favourite polish brands or colours?
I'd love to check out your suggestions too! :)
 ♥ Anita

March Madness

March has always been a hectic month for me, which is why I've been neglecting my blog. It's when our last round of midterms are and also when all our assignments, papers, projects and presentations are due. It's the time to wrap everything up for the term before our finals begin in April, so naturally I've been swamped! I also put myself on a no-buy ban for the month of March to restrict myself from buying makeup and beauty products. This way, I can use my money towards other things like clothes and skincare instead.

The MAC Give Me Liberty of London collection came out on my birthday so I did make myself an exception with this collection. I had been eying this collection for a while and absolutely adored the packaging, so I placed an advanced order online for this.

The first item I got was the beauty powder in Shell Pearl.

The powder is very soft in texture and it's not overly shimmery.

This makes a very pretty highlighter. Some of you asked me what I was wearing on my cheeks in my last post, and this is what I had on.

I also picked up one of the lipsticks in Ever Hip as well as a lipglass in Perennial High Style. These two go very well together and compliment one another.

Left: Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

Middle: Perennial High Style Lipglass

Right: Ever Hip Lipstick

With flash.

I went to Sephora to pick up my birthday gift. 

I chose the lipgloss set because it looked cute

and a girl can never have too much lip gloss ;)

They must've had these kits sitting around for a long time, because on closer inspection, the gloss looked really chunky and sort of dried up. When I swatched them, they seemed to be fine.

Left: Bronzed Beauty

Middle: Rosy Glow

Right: Precious Pink

With flash.

The colours weren't at all like what I imagined them to be and they are more shimmery than I like. Also, the fact that it's starting to clump up already makes me wary, so I'm not sure I'll be using these :P

I've heard so much about Cellnique products and have been wanting to try them for a while now. So recently, when I was contacted by Cellnique asking if I would like to try out a few of their products, I was very surprised to be asked and super excited too. My skin has been breaking out a lot more lately (probably due to stress) so this couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you Selina for sending me these!

These two are definitely my favourite products out of the rest. They work very well in conjunction with each other. I'll have a full review of everything in a couple of weeks! I want to give these a try for at least a month first :) 

I also got this wallet from my mom.

She got this a while back and had been saving it in her closet so I'm not sure of the model anymore.

I love the signature Coach logo on the buckle and it opens to a soft pink interior. I think it contrasts really nicely with the brown on the outside.

♥ ♥ ♥

I have just 3 more days to go for this month's no-buy ban! Definitely had some temptations here and there, but I think I've done pretty well in stopping myself from buying things :) I doubt I'll have the chance to go shopping anytime soon even after my ban is over. I'm going to continue to be swamped with school and things are only going to get busier! I have 2 papers, 1 midterm, 1 presentation and then 4 finals to go before the end of April. This is the final stretch before I graduate from university in May, so it's all or nothing! Good luck to those of you who are busy with school as well! :)

♥ Anita

MAC Cremeblend Blush vs. NYX Cream Blush

Hello lovelies!

This was originally part of the last post on the NYX Rouge Cream Blushes, but I decided to separate it out into its own post. The HTM/CSS coding from the last post was messing up my blog layout which I had no clue how to fix (I'm such a noob!), so here we are with a new post. Let's start fresh shall we? ;)
*********************************************

A lot of people have asked before how the NYX cream blushes compare to the ones from MAC. I myself wondered as well but didn't get a chance to compare them until recently.

Right: MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy
Left: NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Boho Chic

This Mac cream blush was from the Lillyland collection that came out earlier so it's a limited edition product. I picked this blush up because the colour is different from any of the other cream blushes I own, and the other cream blushes by MAC never interested me.

The packaging for both MAC and NYX cream blushes are practically identical. At 0.21oz, the NYX blushes actually hold slightly more product than the MAC blushes at 0.19oz, but this is obviously a negligible difference.

The closest shade that I had to this was Boho Chic by NYX,
the softest pink I had from the NYX collection, seen below.

The texture and consistency of the two blushes feel the same: creamy, smooth and easy to blend. Both are highly pigmented so a tiny bit goes a long way. Surprisingly, even though I have oily skin, both these cream blushes last ages on me. I attribute this to the fact that while they start off creamy, these blushes blend out nicely to a soft, matte finish and are never sticky nor feel thick on your cheeks.
They're a dream to use!

Swatches without flash.

Swatches with flash.

Though the colours are similar, the finishes are nothing alike. So Sweet, So Easy is a soft, matte pink while Boho Chic as shown is a shimmery, frosty pink. Both colours are gorgeous in their own way, and I love them both! All in all, I think the NYX cream blushes are pretty comparable to the MAC cream blushes and at just $7 each,
they're certainly worth a try!

Can you spot the MAC blush above?
Until next time,
♥ Anita

A Love for Cream Blushes

I have to confess, one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to buying makeup are blushes. I am obsessed with blushes. They make up the largest part of my collection and though my drawer is threatening to overflow with blushes, I am always on the urge to buy more. I just can't seem to help myself. If you asked me what product I cannot live without, it would have to be blush. I can survive without eyeliner or the mascara, and even skip the lipgloss or lipstick, but I need to have blush. I love how a just little bit of blush can brighten up your whole face and do wonders for your complexion.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush

I love cream blushes. For someone with oily skin, that might seem odd. However, cream blushes have better staying power for me than regular powder blushes, which tend to slip down my face by the end of the day so I become one hot, flushed mess (which really isn't that hot). With cream blushes, on the other hand, they give me a nice glow from the start of the day through to the end. I can use cream blushes alone for a natural glow, or use them as a base and pair it with a powder blush on top for the ultimate long-lasting glow - which is what I usually like to do, since I have such long days at school and work. 

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Glow

The very first cream blush I've tried were by NYX. You probably recognize the above blush from my January favourites post. I fell in love with this blush and wore it everyday for the longest time. What make these blushes work for me is that though they start off very creamy, they blend out to a soft, matte finish. It doesn't sit on top of your skin nor does it make your cheeks feel sticky.

Since then, I've purchased several more blushes from the NYX collection. I did not expect such a good product for the price that these are worth, and just had to share them with you all. 

Top row: Glow, Hot Pink, Natural

Bottom row: Boho Chic, Golden, Rose Petal 

Left to right: Natural, Hot Pink, Glow 

These blushes don't look very exciting in the pan....

...but with a bit of flash, their true colours show through.

And when swatched, you can really see the gorgeous colours of these blushes. As you can see, the NYX Rouge Cream blushes are all very creamy. Some are creamier than others but they all give the same result.

As you can see, these blushes are extremely pigmented so a little bit goes a long way. They can almost be too pigmented if you do not know how to apply them correctly. 

Personally, I like applying cream blushes with my fingers, but if you want more precise application, I find the 188 small duo-fibre brush by MAC works great for blending out the blush, and I've heard so does the 168 contour brush. 

When blended into my skin, these give me a gorgeous glow that I can't get with powder blushes and looks so much more natural too. Most of the cream blushes are matte but with a slight sheen, so they never look flat on your skin. They look simply amazing and I love them!!

More colours from the NYX cream blushes collection.

Again, these don't look very exciting in the pan.. at all. I was actually a bit surprised when I first saw these in person after having ordered them online. 

Even when I swatched it on my finger, I was feeling worried 'cause I couldn't really tell the difference between these blushes! 

However, when I swatch these on my skin, the difference between these blushes could not be more obvious. First appearances can be deceiving huh?? 

The cream blushes from the NYX collection are interesting because they do not all have the same finish. As you can see, both Boho Chic and Golden have small specks of silver in their finish and are slightly frosty. I fell in love with Boho Chic the moment I swatched it. It is absolutely gorgeous!! I can wear this colour alone without having to use a highlight over or use it as a base and it gives a pretty glow to any blush I put on top of it. It is just amazing <3

Overall, my favourite colours from the collection are Glow, Natural and Boho Chic. They offer a couple more colours in their line that I have yet to try. I buy all my NYX products from Cherryculture.com ♥

*******************************************
 Edit: Just got this in my e-mail!
Cherry Culture is having a sale right now!
I was totally happy to see this 'cause now some of you will be able to take advantage of it :D

Use code "MMM2010" for 20% off everything on the site.
Valid March 10th until March 15th.

Have a great day!

♥ Anita