Deborah Lippmann 'Lady is a Tramp'

I have a love-hate relationship with Deborah Lippmann polishes. I love the colors, but sometimes I hate the formulas.

Lady is a Tramp is a classic dark red. It is a creme, but has a slight jelly-like formula. The name is rather...questionable xD


Price and Availability
$18 on the Lippmann website, Nordstrom, and where else Lippmann polishes are sold.


Formula
From all the Lippmann polishes I have used, this one is in the middle: it is not super sheer, but not super opaque either. You will need 2-3 coats of this to make it completely opaque. I really love the way it looks though. It has a super glossy, jelly formula and it looks so incredibly chic on the nails.I don't get any chipping with this polish, but I rarely get chipping on my nails either ways.

Swatches
I have one coat of my Essie Ridge Filler and two coats of Lady is a Tramp
*There is some VNL because of the flash, but I assure you that in person you cannot see my nail line.

Verdict
I love this color because it is a great staple color to own; it is a very classic color that won't go out of style. The finish is also really great because you don't need a top coat since the polish is already glossy. But, the formula is sheerer than I would hope for an $18 polish.

Rating: 7.5/10
Recommend? That is a tough one. I would only recommend this color because it has a jelly finish. If you like high end products, and are looking for a red jelly polish, maybe you should check this color out. But for the price, I would recommend Rescue Beauty Lounge 'Chinoise' instead.
Repurchase? No. I don't use it all that often, although I do like it. I just feel that there are better polishes out there.

 What do you think of this polish? Have you tried any other Deborah Lippmann polishes?

Swatches: Zoya Mirros Collection

Hi dolls! I hope you are all doing well ^_^

I have a mini collection swatch post to share with you~ This might be a little late, I am sure most of you have seen these polishes already! This is one part of the Zoya Fall 2011 collection called Mirrors. I purchased three colors:

-Yara: Olive green with golden flakes
-Neeka: smokey, greyed purple with subtle purple/red shimmers and not so subtle gold flakes
-Jem: Deep, red toned purple with pink/gold flakes

 *Oh and I should mention, I bought these before I started my Project 10 Pan!

Price and Availability
$8 per bottle. You can purchase them on the Zoya Website.
I purchased mine at my Uni's bookstore (weird, right?).


Yara
This was the color I knew I had to have. It is really unique and I have not seen a gold and olive green combo in a nail polish before. The formulas was amazing. This is two coats, only because I messed up the first coat. But you really only need one coat for full opacity! It is insane.

Close up~

Neeka

At fist I was not going to buy this, but when I saw it in person, I loved it and I coulnd't resist. I am a purple fiend, and this was waaay to good to pass up. Like Yara, this went opaque in one coat. One coat!!! I love this because the purple is very smokey and a little dark, but the gold shimmer really brightens up the nail color a bit, and it just looks phenomenal on the nails.

My nails are sooo long right now.

Look at that! Isn't it beautiful?

Jem
Yet another color I was not going to get, but when I saw it in person I fell in love with the color! Like the previous two, this also has a one coat formula. But I also messed up the first coat so I had to apply a second one. This color is super glam, and very appropriate for fall and winter. The one thing I noticed though was that Jem has less gold flakes in artificial light than Yara and Neeka. The gold flakes and shimmer are more noticeable in natural light.

I hope you guys can see that beautiful shimmer!

Verdict
I absolutely love these three shades! They all have a fantastic formula/opacity and they are all gorgeous colors! I think these three colors were the starts of the Mirrors collection and I am so glad I purchased them.
(These might be a little expensive for some people, but compared to Chanel's $25 polishes, $8 is not so bad!) These have quickly become my favorite Zoya polishes ever! Zoya, you guys did a fantastic job!

Rating: 10/10
Recommend? Duh! If you love shimmer, then  you are in for a treat~
Repurchase? I definitely would. If I ever finish these up, I most likely will repurchase it.

Review: TATCHA Aburatorigami

Blotting sheets are used to remove excess oil from the skin, particularly when you are wearing foundation. I have used ELF blotting sheets, Everyday Minerals blotting sheets, and a couple others as well, but none have ever really worked for me.

The TATCHA Aburatorigami (I know "abura" means oil and "gami" is paper. I don't know what "tori" is though) are blotting sheets made of abaca leaf with bits of gold flakes in them. Sounds odd right? I thought so too. These blotting sheets appeal to our sense of having something that is pretty and it also works great! These are:
~100% abaca leaf
~Fragrance-free, powder-free, and oil-free
~All natural, biodegradable, and cruelty-free
~Hand-made in Japan

Price and Availability
$12 for one 30 sheet pack and you can buy them on TATCHA's website

The sheets are beautifully packaged ;) Gorgeous!

History

Benefits of using these sheets (according to the TATCHA website):
 ~Removes excess oil that can lead to clogged pores and breakouts

~Minimizes the need for harsh complexion treatment products such as oil control gels, chemicals, primers and powders that can coat and stress skin out
~Allows skin’s natural luminosity to shine through by eliminating the need for full face powder

~Helps to create a perfect canvas for makeup
~Helps to keep make-up looking fresh throughout the day, reducing the need for touch ups

 Below, you can see the pieces of gold flakes.

This is gross, but I will show you a used sheet. You can see all the oil that it absorbed? 

PROS:
~Unrelated to the products, but the person from the company that emailed me was extremely nice, polite, and helpful. You could really tell from their email just how kind the person was!

~I love how they are packaged. It appeals to my love for Japanese products
~The sheet itself is very well made. It actually absorbs the oil, unlike many other blotting sheets
~They are all natural and hand made
~The gold flakes make this a super unique blotting sheet
~One sheet goes a long way, and it really does remove ALL the excess oil on your skin
~It does not remove my foundation, only the excess oils

CONS:
~A little expensive for blotting sheets
~Can only be purchased online

Verdict
From all the blotting sheets I have ever used, these are by far my favorite. I only need to use one sheet, and it thoroughly removes all the excess oils on my skin. It does not take off my foundation (which is what I hate about some blotting sheets) and I don't need to re-apply any powder after I use these. The sheets are a little expensive, but one pack has lasted me a while and I still have about half a pack left. I know that one reason I love these is because of their Japanese background and the fact that this is a Japanese product...and I am just a weirdo like that. ^_^

Rating: 9/10 
Recommend? Yes. If you have not found blotting sheets that work for you, you might want to try these out.
Repurchase? I would purchase a pack of these to have in case of emergency oil clean ups ;D

*This product was sent to me by TATCHA for review purposes, but my opinions are my own.

EOTD: MAC Sunset

Hi there lovelies ^_~

This is the EOTD that I showed on the post of my MAC colorful palette. I apologize for the lack of eye looks, but like I mentioned in an earlier post, my eyes have been really irritated lately, and I don't want to wear too much eye makeup. Today I didn't even put on mascara or anything, just to let my eyes rest.
I  went to my optometrist today and he told me my eyes were dry and a little inflamed. So just to be safe, I will not wear any eye make up for the next couple of days. But I have a couple other EOTD's that I never posted so I will post those in the mean time.

Here is the look I did using my MAC shadows:
*This look is actually easier than it would seem. I created this look in about 2 minutes or less. You don't have to be too precise since there is a lot of blending.

Products Used:

 ~MAC Painterly Paint Pot
~MAC Parfait Amour
~MAC Passionate (You can also use Sushi Flower instead)
~MAC Nocturnelle
~MAC Beauty Marked
~MAC Deep Truth
~MAC Electric Eel
~Dolly Wink liquid Eyeliner
~Prestige My Blackest Lashes

Is this "diagram" helpful?

How to Achieve this Look:
1.Apply your base or primer. I used MACs Painterly Paint Pot.
2.Take Passionate, or any bright pink, and apply it above the crease blending it downwards
(Don't blend to much yet).
3.Take Nocturnelle, or any medium toned purple, and apply it on the crease, just below Passionate.
4.Blend! You want a nice transition between the pink and purple.
5.Apply Parfait Amour on the lid, where you have not yet applied any shadows yet.
6. Take Beauty Marked or Deep Truth, or both, and apply it on the outer V just slightly. This will darken up the outer part and give more color dimension.
7.Apply Deep Truth on the lower lash line, but avoid the inner part of the lower lash line.
8.Apply Electric Eel on the inner corner.
9.Mascara and liner.

And you are done!

Hope you liked this! Thank you for reading ;)

*Notice my signature has changed. I am going to just use my name instead of Yami.

Julep 'Sienna'

Check out Julep 'Emilie' HERE
*It has been brought to my attention by VijiiS that this could possibly be a dupe for Chanel's Kaleidoscope polish~

This is the second polish that came in the first Julep Maven bag, and it is quite different from Emilie.

I love the bottle~ So cute~ The brush is really nice as well :D

Sienna is a metallic, sparkly gold with silver and taupe undertones. The Julep website says it is just gold, but I have to disagree. It definitely has some taupey/gold undertones, but it also looks a little silver.


Price and Availability
$14 on the Julep Website, or you can sign up for the Julep Maven program and get this plus some other fantastic products for $9.99.

Formula
Compared to Emilie, which is a creme, Sienna was a little thinner. Although the formula was thinner, it was still very pigmented. You can get away with one coat, but the only problem was that one coat, although opaque, was a little streaky (It was streaky because it is a metallic color). I applied two coats and that was absolutely perfect. This dried very quickly and it dried to a semi-matte finish. I would suggest applying a top coat to avoid getting a flat looking metallic.

Swatches

One coat. See how streaky it is?

Two coats. Looks a lot better, right?

Up close and in natural lighting

In  natural light it looks more taupe/silver than gold.

Verdict
I really like this color, specially because it is a very complex color. It is not just a solid gold or solid silver. It has color dimension that many other metallic polishes do not have. The formula is also great, minus the initial streaks. I initially thought it was going to be similar to Zoya's 'Jules' but it is actually very different. I have nothing like this in my collection, so I am very happy with it ^_^

Rating: 9/10  (minus points for the streaky first coat and because it dries to be a little flat)
Recommend? Yes. If you love metallics or golds and silvers, I highly recommend this~
Repurchase?  I love this color, and I like way more than my Zoya Jules polish. But I probably would not repurchase it, because there are so many other polishes to try out there. I hardly ever repurchase a nail polish either ways (I have only repurchased one color in my life time, and that is OPI Done out in Deco).

Julep 'Emilie'

The other day I received my first Julep Maven package, and one of the colors included was Emilie.

Emilie is a medium-dark forest green cream.

Price and Availability
This color is not available yet, and the only way you can get it is by signing up for the Julep Maven monthly subscription. It will be available during the fall on the Julep website for $14.

Formula
I am going to keep this simple. The formula is freaking amazing! I used one coat, and TA-DAH! Full opaque coverage~ For one coat coverage, you would expect the polish to be somewhat thick, but this is really not that thick. It is actually very easy to apply. Smooth like butter and impeccable coverage. The polish is also extremely glossy! I didn't even apply a top coat. I am immensely impressed by Julep right now.

Swatches
*I have one coat of the Julep Base Coat and one coat of Emilie
Sorry for the messy look. I had a glitter polish on before applying this, and the glitter did not want to come off.  I was also in a hurry! I might have to re swatch these later, but for now this will have to do.

Verdict
This will be a great color for fall! And although it is not my favorite color, the formula is really amazing (can't say the same for my application...). I love the bottle as well; very chic! After trying so many nail polishes I have to say this is one of the best creme formulas I have ever used. I highly recommend you guys check out the Julep Maven subscription! You will be able to try out Julep polishes or much cheaper cause $14 per bottle is a little steep.

Rating 9.5/10 (This color is not so flattering on me)
Recommend? YES~
Repurchase? I would not repurchase this color, since I don't think it is the most flattering on my skin tone. But I would definitely buy another color if it had the same formula as this :D

Desert Island Lips Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Vonnie of Socialite Dreams~ Thanks girl!

The point of this tag? If you could only keep one lip product, which one would you choose?

Here is the scenerio:

You are going to be cast away on a deserted island, but you must maintain your fabulousness. The trick is, it can only be a lip product. What ONE lip colour could you happily live with for the rest of your days? This isn’t about your favourite or what’s haute at the moment. It should be something that doesn’t require lip liner or mixing with some other colour to make it look good. This should be a colour that you don’t have to think twice about because you know it will never fail to make you look flirty, bold or seductive every time you wear it. What would it be?

The Rules

1. Choose your  Desert Island Lip colour (lipstick, stain, lip pencil, OR gloss). Only one, please
2. Tell us why you’ve picked it (what makes it special, timeless, or the bomb)
3. Post a photo of yourself wearing the lipstick . The photo should be your full face
4. *You may only use these other types of products in your photo:
   1. Foundation/concealer/powder
   2. Groomed brows
   3. Mascara
   4. Desert Island Lip product
   5. Tag 3 other beauty bloggers

*No paintpots, eyeshadows, eyeliner, blush, contour, highlighters or additional lip liners.

My Desert Island Lip Product is... Tokidoki Gelato Lip Balm in 'Skeletrina'

 I love Skeletrina because:
~It is a stain, so the color lasts all day long
~It is really moisturizing
~A lip stain, lip balm, and gloss all in one
~The color is bold and fun~

*Besides Skeletrina, I have on the Skin79 Oriental BB Cream. That's it.

I Tag:

1. Maryam Maquillage
2.Suzanne
3.PopBlush

And I love all you guys, so of course I tag anyone else who wants to do it :D