Review: Glamour Doll Eyes Circus Collection

For a long time I've been hearing about Glamour Doll Eyes (or GDE for short) on various blogs and youtube videos, but until recently I had never really given the company much thought.  It was when  I saw the look from the Circus collection on this guest post on Xsparkage that I knew I had to check out this company for myself. Even though I set out only to get a few colors, GDE has the awesome option to buy sample jars, so I ended up getting the entire Circus collection + two other colors for around $20!!

The Circus collection arrived packaged in a cute little box, complete with a package of cotton candy Poprocks and a raffle ticket! I don't remember what the raffle ticket is for, but that's ok.  The jars also came sealed, which really surprised me considering they were just samples.

Bearded Lady- Shimmering brown with a silver sparkle

Big Top- Shimmering yellow with a faint pink shimmer

Cotton Candy- Light blue with pink glitter

Electric Chair- Shimmering white

Fiji Mermaid- Deep teal with a sea green shimmer

Fire Eater- Orange, red, and gold glitter

(I didn't photograph my swatch of this because, since I didn't use a base, it almost immediately fell off. It's ok because it's pure glitter- no binders or anything- so this behavior was expected.)

Oddity- Lime green with yellow gold shift

Sword Swallower- shimmering light silver

Across the board (minus Fire Eater, because it's all glitter) that these shadows are very finely milled.  When I put my finger in the jar to make the swatches, I couldn't tell when I had dipped into the product!  Because it felt so barely-there, I was worried about color payoff; but, I'm happy to say that all of these shadows have great pigmentation. Also, to get the colors to REALLY pop, a sticky base works wonders (I put these over my trusty UDPP while it's still "wet," and I have also used my NYX Jumbo Pencil).

All in all, I think this collection is definitely worth your hard-earned dollars. Plus, as I previously mentioned, there are a lot of different price options: $8 will get you the entire collection in sample bags, $16 will get you the entire collection in sample jars, and $32 will get you the entire collection in full-sized jars.  You also can purchase full sized individual shades for $6 (it doesn't look like you can buy samples of this collection individually).

You don't have to take my word for it! The Circus Collection is available now (for a limited time!) at Glamour Doll Eyes.

Skincare PATIENCE!

Dear readers,
Hopefully it's been ingrained in your heads how important it is to take care of your skin, no matter how old you are or what your skin type is.  If your skin acts like your enemy, as mine does to me, I know how it feels to pick up a product that's supposed to promise the moon and the stars, and does nothing of the sort.  This begins my story with retinol.

What's retinol? It's form of Vitamin A, which increases cell turnover.  It's often used in anti-aging products, and all the horrible (awesome) beauty mags I read are always saying "USE RETINOL WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR 20s SO YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A WRINKLED SACK OF DOODY LATER IN LIFE!!!"  I first started using it because it came in this acne kit.  It helped my acne heal and my scars fade, but I eventually got lazy and stopped using it.  When I switched to a different products, the terrible acne cycle began.  A few months ago, I was getting a little desperate and looked into laser treatment for scar removal for my face-- the quote I got was $1600.  Per treatment. According to the dermatologist I saw, she said I'd need three.

After the meeting, I dug out another OTC retinol product I had and started using it religiously every night (retinol breaks down in sunlight, so if you want it to work, you have to use it at night).  It's been about two months, and I definitely see a difference, not only in how my scars have faded, but also how much the texture of my skin has improved.

You may recognize from my Urban Defense review, taken a few months ago.

Right side- sad panda:(

This was taken this morning:

Right and left sides

Obviously my face didn't magically get perfect over night, but the difference is noticeable. So I guess this post is to encourage you to not give up! If you're like me, and using something to fix a problem, don't expect it to work overnight! Have patience! If your your routine is just to delay the inevitable, then congratulations to your future of being a hot senior citizen- keep up the good work!

WANT: Hello Kitty first aid kit

A poorly kept secret is that I manage to hurt myself all the time. It sucks. Maybe it's a special talent I should put on my resume? Another poorly kept secret is that I LOVE adorable things.  I'm not psycho-obsessed with Hello Kitty as some people are (which is kind of awesome- their obsession, that is), but I just came across this HK first aid kit, and I think I must own it.  How cute is that?!  At under $11 it's decently priced, and it's a 73 piece kit, so it will last me about.......... a week.

If you must own it too, it's available at Target.

Do you love any adorable/functional things? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Sally Hansen Nail Effects

These things have been around for a while now, and have gotten the seal of approval from some lovely friends of mine (hi Carolina! hi Jenn!), but I never picked them up until last week. While there are a few designs in the permanent collection that are really lovely, I kind of flipped for the Halloween designs.  My favorite designs were silvery spider webs, and red fishnets.  I went with the red fishnets because I think i can paint spider webs on my nails with the tools I already own.

The instructions were easy enough, and the kit included everything one needs to apply the stickers (mini nail file, wooden cuticle pusher). My only qualm was the little wooden cuticle pusher-- it kind of made my cuticles ragged. Next time I've just going to use my cuticle remover.  The only thing I didn't do well enough was stretching these to fit my nail beds, so on some of them there is a smidge of bare nail on the sides.  Not a big deal-- just something I'll know for next time.

While I love that there is zero drying time with these, what really impressed me was the wear time.  So far I've been wearing them for 9 days, and they're still going pretty strong!

9 days in!

I do have chips, but only on my thumbnails. The right thumb had an accident when I was cutting veggies for dinner, and the left got chipped because I was using it as a tool to pry something open.  Had  my nails not been abused, I'm sure they'd still be blemish-free.  PS: In case you're wondering, there isn't a topcoat on these babies, so the shine and sturdiness of the stickers isn't due to an outside product.

Left thumb, right thumb.
(no my right thumb isn't actually freakishly bigger than my left.  sorry to disappoint.)

All in all, I'd highly recommend these if you're into nail art but can't afford to go to a salon, if your art skills are lacking, or just want a quick polish job but don't have the time to wait for anything to dry.  These come in a variety of designs, and some solid colors too.  (Sally Hansen also makes nail stickers in a really sheer pink color, but they're not called Nail Effects, and they come in different packaging.  I noticed them with the bottles of top coats; etc. so if you're into something more natural, you may want to seek those out! Sorry I didn't remember the name of these)  I personally wish they would come in classic red for when my nails are a wreck and I suddenly have to look presentable for something.

Check your local drugstore for these, especially if you're interested in the Halloween designs! Actually, my Duane Reade had the "Holiday" designs out too. THEY ARE AWESOME! More about them another time.

Have any questions or comments? Feel free to post them below!

Discounted Urban Decay and MAC!

Today I made a really awesome discovery-- allcosmeticswholesale.com, a site that features copious amounts of legit, discounted cosmetics.  The brands I was most excited for was Urban Decay and MAC, but there is a slew of other big brands offered there (Bobby Brown, Clinique, Laura Mercier; etc).

Why are they discounted?  It seems that what's on here is discontinued (including my favorite Easy Lounger lipglass from MAC's To the Beach collection, swatched here), was a tester, was a little damaged, or was a tester.  Not sure how i feel about purchasing a cosmetic that was a tester (assuming it was from a retail store), but a tester brush is all right with me.  As long as the bristles aren't all crazy and falling out, you can just wash it and it'll be good as new!  With that said, I bought three different Urban Decay eyeshadow brushes, for less than the cost of two. SO EXCITED!  I already have the angled blush brush from them, and it's awesome.  The site said two of the three brushes i ordered are missing the UD boxes, so I'm curious how they'll be packed for the shipment.  Can't wait until they come!