Review: Styli-Style Plastique Hi-Shine Lipgloss

Today I bring you a review of something that probably should have a cult following, but doesn't. Styli-Style's eyeliners are super popular all over the internet (especially the 24/7 pencil liners not to be confused with Urban Decay's much pricier line). However, you usually don't hear all that much about their line of lip products.

Styli-Style's Plastique Hi-Shine lipglosses are awesome. They are only slightly sticky (not like MAC lipglasses that's for sure). They have that vanilla scent that MAC uses. They are moisturizing. They come in lots of colors and they are cheap! I bought discontinued packaging (the silver caps - on sale on their website from $3.99-$7.99) but they just came out with new black packaging ($7.49).

click on image for super large detailed size

I made the images above pretty big. These are all the colors I have. This is another one of my Ebay deals. No, of course I didn't pay $7.99 a piece or even $3.99 a piece. Want to guess? Wrong! Hah. No, I paid 50 cents each for all of these beautiful colors.

The stand out colors for me are:
Flirty: a creamy peachy pink, no shimmer at all, and of course as noted above, a very cheap and not quite as nasty smelling (!) NARS Turkish Delight dupe
Metro: a pink base with peach duo-chrome (NARS orgasm dupe?)
Mambo: a slightly more intense Metro with orange duo-chrome
Berry: Likely easily dupe-able but a very pretty cool berry with subtle shimmer

And of course, I love clear not horribly sticky lipglosses, especially if you have a ton of loose shadows (which of course I do). Mix clear (or Candy a very very light nearly clear pink with silver sparkle) with a light green pigment, get a cheaper version of MAC Spring Bean lustreglass. Mix either of the above with black pigment, get a much cheaper version of the black lipgloss trend and don't sacrifice a whole tube to be trendy!

So much fun. So underrated.

How To: Color Theory

My background is in Art/Architecture. I have a Bachelor's degree in Art and I am an avid painter (my medium of choice is acrylics). So, it's actually hard for me not to think of makeup in an "art" way. In my opinion, one of the most asked questions is "what color of eyeshadow will work with my [blank] color eyes". Let's open up that can of worms, shall we?

image taken from: http://www.alifetimeofcolor.com/study/g_color_wheel.html

This is a very simple color wheel, only including the primary (and secondary) colors that we all know from our elementary school days when crayons were all the rage. People will tell you "oh, it's easy, just look on the opposite side of the color wheel"! Ok, that's nice. But how many people are really going to wear bright red eyeshadow on their green eyes? And how many people's green eyes are that green? Only a few lucky ones, I'm sure. So, what does this mean for you, the makeup wearing public? And what does this really mean when we are talking about eyeshadow?

Taking it a step farther, what does this mean when people say "warm" and "cool" colors. In reality, every color up there can also have warm or cool versions of itself. There are warm blues and cool oranges.

Ok...

"so, Jeweled Thumb, what if my eyes are green?"

As I said earlier, technically red is on the opposite side of the color wheel. However, using variations of red + the other colors around it will also bring out your eye color (just not as much as wearing red eyeshadow would).

I'm going to display some "swatches" from the Sephora.com website for the brand Make Up Forever (MUFE for short).

First, we have "green eyes":

image taken from: http://www.fancyflours.com/food-color-green-leaf.html

So these are 8 different shadows from MUFE. Obviously, all of us makeup loving fanatics will know that these swatches are not entirely accurate. Depending on the shadow, some could have more pigment and apply more "true" than others. Some will have more of a metallic finish while others will be more matte. These are just a guideline. You can add white to any of these shades (in theory) to make them lighter, but they will still have more red in them which will make the green look more green. So why do these all work? They are all red mixed with the colors around the red, white OR BROWN. See, I'm sure as you all noticed when you were a kid. If you mixed all your paint colors together, you will get brown. So, the darkest shade, has brown and red and probably a little purple thrown in (which is blue and red).

So the shade names I generally suggest for green eyes?

Copper (red + orange + brown) & Peach (red + yellow + white)

Key words:
copper
bronze
peach
rust
burgundy
mauve
wine
...

I could write pages and pages on this, but I'll stop... for now.

How To: Ebay

I am a huge huge huge fan of Ebay. Mostly for the purchasing (or selling - but I usually buy - oops) of high end makeup I would have never been able to afford otherwise. Granted, if I really wanted to, I could probably purchase a few high end items here and there, but why pay full price when they are available for quite less than that? I am the queen of bargain shopping and why should that change for colored powder? You're right! It shouldn't.

Now, you're probably thinking, "but Jeweled Thumb, most of the makeup on Ebay is fake! Why should I chance that to get a bargain?".

Ok, there is fake makeup on Ebay, but that doesn't mean the majority of it is. In order to make sure you don't get the dreaded fake NARS and MAC Hello Kitty palettes, you need to do some research and follow some rules.

1. Read the seller's feedback. No, this doesn't mean looking and making sure they have a 100% or 99.2% positive feedback, it means actually reading the feedback. Not too long ago, seller's had the ability to give buyer's negative feedback. Especially for those that didn't have a lot of feedback built up, it was safer to give a positive score and still write about the issues in the comment section. And even now, for instance, if a seller sent me something that wasn't described accurately and then refunded my money, what kind of feedback do you give? It's sometimes easier to just give the positive feedback (even though it's untrue) than to deal with a harassing seller.
2. Read item descriptions closely. You know what bugs me? When sellers show pictures of piles of high end makeup and then in small print, it read something akin to "you are only bidding on 5 items". Read the item listing and you won't fall trap to the 5 items for $100 scheme.
   
3. Learn packaging. Not only are there issues with the high end fakes out there, but there is plenty of old moldy gross product on Ebay. And why do people fall for it? Because some don't realize that the packaging is super old. If you are a fan of certain brand, learn some of the really early collections and packaging. It will save you a lot of headache (one of the worst ones is Sue Devitt - most of the stock in Ebay is super old!).
4. Don't automatically think the worst. Some times things are too good to be true, sometimes they aren't. A few months ago, I purchased several high end items (YSL palettes) that if I had bought at a store would have easily cost me over $200 but on Ebay I got them for $25. After gushing about my awesome find on the makeup board, I was told that it was too good to be true. Guess what came in the mail a few days later? Perfect YSL palettes with the Nordies stickers still in place.
5. Go against the wave. When do the most Ebay items end? Sunday. That's the day that they claim most people buy. So when should you look for items to end. Not Sunday. Say an item ends on a Monday. There's a less chance that others will be looking to bid or they may forget during a busy work week. Use other people's trends to your advantage!
   
6. Know where your boundaries are. Would you automatically dismiss something in tester packaging? What if an eyeshadow had been swiped (even though used makeup technically isn't allowed on Ebay it still happens)? If you are a germaphobe, make sure you are buying items that have pictures of the actual item, not stock pictures. If you don't really care, you may grab a deal when there is only a stock picture.
   
7. Remember if it gets really bad, Paypal is there to help. If your purchase is under $200 (I believe) and you paid with paypal and you either a) do not receive an item or b) receive an item in unfit condition, you can always make a paypal claim. No longer are the days where you had to wait for the seller to refund you from his own bank account (which he had cleared out conveniently). Paypal will give you the money anyway. I have never had a paypal claim not go my way.

Follow these guidelines and hopefully your Ebay experience will be one worth gushing over!

Rock & Republic Goes Bye-Bye

Well, I don't believe it has been officially announced yet, but the line Rock & Republic is going out of business and is currently on sale for 40% off on the Neiman Marcus website. That's not to say it's reasonably priced, though. Eyeshadows are $17 with the discount and blushes are $24. There is currently free shipping too with the code NMOCT. I've heard great things about the quality of the items and the packaging is pretty nifty. Not sure if I'll take the plunge though.

New Beauty Test Tube

Several years ago when I was still in college (probably circa 2004 or 2005) the New Beauty magazine first launched and in turn their Test Tube program. It was all the rage on the makeup board for awhile and then other companies out there started their own test programs. There's My Pretty Pink Box (next launch Oct 7th - tomorrow!), there's Beauty Fix and even Allure. I'm sure there are even more. Anyway... now that I have a job that pays me reasonably well, I can afford these little boxes (or tubes) of pure bliss.

The Test Tube program is 4x a year. Each tube is (checking credit card statement here) $38.90 including tax and shipping (shipping is pretty hefty but the tube weighs about 2 lbs).

Ok, so I signed up. They charged my card and my Test Tube arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

Here's what came:

• Trish McEvoy Eye Base Essentials in Bare (full size - $24)
• Jane Iredale Dream Tint in Peach Brightener .25floz (deluxe sample)
• Thalgo Delicate Exfoliating Bar .88oz (deluxe sample full size is 4.4oz)
• Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel 1oz (deluxe sample full size is 8.5oz)
• Befine Exfolating Cleanser 1.5floz (deluxe sample full size is 4oz)
• Supersmile toothpaste (small size - sells for $13)
• Fekkai 3-minute mask 1.7oz (deluxe sample full size is 7oz)
• Bioelements Moisture x10 .25oz (deluxe sample - full size is 1 oz/$39!)
• Glisodin skin nutrient supplement 12 pills (full size is 60 pills/$80)
  
• Vera Wang body lotion .75oz (deluxe sample)
• Dr. Brandt Pores No More .25oz (deluxe sample - full size is 1oz/$45)

And last but not least (actually, it's not thrilling me) is a $20 ""gift card"" to spalook.com. And my excessive use of quotations means there is fine print. This is really just a one use coupon code. It says on the back that it must be used towards a purchase of $100 or more.

Anyway, do I think the tube is worth it? Mostly. The 2 full size items in the tube more or less equal the amount I paid for it, plus I get a whole bunch of samples. Could do without the ""gift card"" or would it really kill them to make the amount just a set $20 off of $20? I mean, it's not as though I'd spend less than $50 anyway because I always try to get free shipping. The samples are pretty generous though and it is super fun to receive a surprise package 4x a year.

Things that I can't use are going to be sent to my mother in law (MIL from now on!). She spoils DH and I like crazy (he's an only child) so we constantly get packages from her so since she recently asked me from skincare advice, I'm returning the favor.

Breaking News

FTC says bloggers now need to disclose when they receive free products - Personally, I'm a-ok with this and will disclose when/if I receive free products

There.

Thoughts?

Review: Hard Candy Foiled Again Metallic Shadow Sticks

Obviously, I couldn't wait to crack some of the products open. The thing that caught my eye at the store (other than the pretty baked shadows/blushes) were the shadow sticks. I think it's because MAC's greasepaint sticks have been all over makeupalley and blogs lately. I, of course, gravitated towards the more neutral colors though the line has some crazy colors, including highlighter yellow which I'm sure will be a big hit among MUFE and MAC lovers.

Well, I figured these would be similarly shaped to other brands (pencil-like). Was I ever wrong. I popped off the cap and lo-and-behold what looks like a lipstick is under the cap! This is not necessarily a bad thing but really limits the ability to do anything eyeliner-like with this stick without the help of a brush. Don't they remind you a little of L'Oreal Colour Juice Sticks?

I picked up 3 colors (1 is probably going back - Ecstasy looks a bit too warm for me - the copper one).

From left to right in tube: Celestine, Soiree, Ecstasy
From top swatched on NW10 skin: Celestine (white shimmer), Soiree (neutral brown), Ecstasy (copper)

How's the staying power of these? Well, it's hard to know without doing an eye look (and I always use a base as it is), but after applying a few swipes of this on bare skin, I took it off with a kleenex (rubbed several times) and you can still see remnants of the shadows (granted not anything like your waterproof eyeliners or apparently greasepaints but for $6 not too bad)! So, that bodes well for the product, though as I said, no promises on the eyes!

*edit*

So, after posting this, I applied Soiree (the brown shade) all over my lid (without UDPP) and some Stila eyeshadow to set it. I then went and started organizing my closet and doing some general cleaning. My face is now a sweaty mess but my eyeshadow looks exactly the way I applied it! No creasing. I am thrilled! I wish they made even more neutral colors of these like a taupe and maybe also black (you listening Hard Candy?)! So, so far...

applied at ~3:30pm (no base!)
now it is 5:00pm
(will update in a couple hours after I cook dinner over a hot stove!)

*edit II*

It is now 7:30pm and after cooking pasta with meat(less) sauce here is the status report. We have some very minimal creasing exactly on the crease (you can basically see a brown line where my crease is) but otherwise it doesn't look too bad. My lid is still as vibrant as it was at 3:30pm and unless you literally stretched the lid so you can see the whole thing, it's not very obvious. So that's 5 or so hours without UDPP. I bet the lasting power is even more awesome over it.

*edit III*

This is the last one I promise. So, before I took a shower this evening (wow, I feel like I'm twittering - you guys get to read about my every last move), I used one of my handy make up removing wipes to get off this stuff. Well, it took several strong wipes to get the majority of it off, but there was still remnants of it on my lid and especially around my lash line, which makes me think that this will work awesome as eyeliner! We'll see if it's eyeliner brush friendly.

I Found Hard Candy!

There's been quite a craze over the new Hard Candy line at Walmart, and while I wasn't sure it would be at the one close by, I took the chance. And there it was, in it's new shiny goodness! It had to have gone up very recently because even the price tags weren't up yet. I have to admit I went a little crazy. I just have product photos so far. No swatches. Hopefully, it's all decent. Though, I just double checked Walmart's return policy and as far as I can see, there are no exclusions with cosmetic products (though correct me if I'm wrong) unlike Target.

What can I say about the line without even cracking open these babies? Well, there's a ton of it! I could have gone super wild and picked up much more. There are easily over 100 different colors/items in the line. Several different lip colors, eye shadows, bronzers, face products, eye palettes... And for all of you germaphobes, everything in the line is sealed, which is awesome.

Nouveau Cheap has great pictures of the whole line here.

Shoes OMG Shoes... These Shoes Rule! These Shoes Suck!

Ok, haha, flashback there. So, just a public service announcement that DSW (one of my favorite stores in the world) has put a ton of their shoes on super clearance. That's right. We're talking about $9.94 for a pair of shoes that would usually sell for quite a bit more.

Here's a few I picked up:




Can you tell I really like flats? Yes, these were all $9.94! Brands are Miss Me (74% off), Penny and Kenny (83% off), Blowfish (80% off) and Not Rated (83% off). Get over there before they sell out of your size!

Glee!

Glee was on last tonight. I am thoroughly addicted to this new show, probably because I was one of them in high school. I was in choir and madrigals and... Divas. Yeah, that was the name of the small women's ensemble I was in, very show choir-esque. We had baby blue sequined dresses, enough said.

But, what else am I glee-ful about?

(Perhaps) the biggest sale of the year! Sephora Friends & Family. Use code ff2009 from October 19th to November 2nd, 2009 for 20% off at Sephora.com. I have my list all ready. How about you?

Oh, and as previously mentioned, I have gotten into nail polish again. A few weeks ago, CVS was having a BOGO 50% sale on Milani and I took the opportunity to grab a few of the LE polishes.

I bought: Enchantment (black base with blue shimmer), Charmed (black base with silver shimmer), Whimsical (black base with purple shimmer) and Spellbound (black base with red shimmer).

Here I am wearing Spellbound. This was a rushed 2 coats or so. Isn't it pretty (even DH liked it)? The glitter/shimmer isn't out there obvious and while it makes my nails a little bumpy, I'm probably the only person (aside from you) that notices that they are uneven. And you can't beat the price (even pre-sale they were about $4.50).