Tarte for True Blood Palette Swatches

Jeeeeeeeez, there's so much going on with this palette that I'm going to have to break it up into a three part ordeal. The next post will be for the primer, liner, mascara, eye shadow dupes, and roundup. This is going to be very picture heavy...

By the way, if you haven't seen my first post with sneak peek pictures of the shadows and packaging, click here to check it out.

Row 1, 2

The Light, Fairy

Dusk, Dawn

Werewolf, Waitress

Nocturnal

Row 3, 4, 5

Charmer, Glamour Me, Stake

Bayou, Telepath, The True Death

Immortal, Moss, Legend, "V"

Ever hear the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover"? To be honest, I was put off by some of these shadows when I swatched them on my arm. The mattes, were by far, the easiest to swatch (and had the nicest formula). Others, not so much (a few kicked up a lot of dust -- mainly, some the shimmery shades). However, when used with a primer, I noticed a HUGE difference. For the sake of example, I swatched two of the shadows using the primer that came with the palette:

"V", Immortal, without primer

"V", Immortal, with primer

Yowza! Huge difference, indeed! As you can see, a primer is absolutely necessary or else you'll be very disappointed. Overall, I'm impressed. The only one I consider to be a dud is "Nocturnal". Out of all the shadows, it's the least pigmented.

Tarte for True Blood Palette (Sneak Peek)

Happy Tuesday!! Here's a super quick (picture heavy post) of the limited edition Tarte for True Blood palette. Are you a Trubie? I sure as hell am! I have an appointment soon so I don't have time to swatch it until later. I must admit, based on Sephora's pictures, the shadows in this palette didn't look like anything special. Let me tell you, they're gorgeous in person.

Click to zoom

The packaging is slightly reminiscent of the UD BOS, no?

Keep on the look out for my swatches later!

Click here to see swatches of the eyeshadows!

You can purchase this palette ($52 USD) from Sephora. 

Mail!

I wanted to share with you guys some goodies I received in the mail. I'm pretty sure I received both orders from Zoya and Sephora, about a week or two ago.

First, I received my Sephora order. I found out the Naked palette was back in stock so I ordered it... AGAIN. I feel absolutely insane for buying a 'backup' of something I already own that is supposedly permanent. I never thought of myself as 'that girl', you know, the one who buys into cosmetic hysteria. Yet, here I am. I love the Naked palette. I'm such a sucker. Anyone else out there who is a sucker for this thing too?

Also, to qualify for free shipping, I ordered 'Teal We Meet Again' from Sephora by OPI. I haven't tried it yet, but it sure is pretty!

Next thing: I received my order from Zoya. I picked out three polishes for FREE, thanks to their 20k fans on Facebook promotion. I did buy one extra, though. From left to right: Miley, Gweneth, Daphne, Charity. The shade I was most looking forward to (Miley), I was most disappointed by. It's pretty in the bottle but it's sheer. I mean, SHEER. With that said, the other three are absolutely gorgeous. To my surprise, Gweneth ended up being my favorite. I'm not necessarily a 'red' girl, but I may become one now!

Ah, and that thing in the upper right corner? I bought a new computer this past Sunday. I'm officially an Apple user! It took me a good while to figure out how to cut and paste, but I'm getting the hang of it. :)

Urban Decay: Book of Shadows III

When I originally posted my giveaway for the UD BoS III, I only bought one for a giveaway on this blog, not for my personal use. Then I received a $5 coupon in the mail from Ulta and I decided to invest in one for myself! I don't own any of the previous BoS sets but since I truly LOVE New York (and I have a newfound affinity for UD shadows since having the Naked palette), I figured I should get one. And, I saved $5. Five bucks is five bucks, right?!

Retail price: $54 USD

A Berry Berry Awesome GIVEAWAY! (CLOSED)

In honor of the upcoming holidays, I'd like to offer you a little gift and a big thank you. I started this blog to talk about things other than my life. I love makeup and all that it entails. I'm not an artist, I kind of suck (no, I really do suck) at applying eyeliner, but I love it all anyway. This place is my little refuge to talk about superficial little treasures. Along the way, on my short journey, I've had the pleasure of chatting with some amazing ladies in the beauty community. Through my own words, I've watched how my opinions on things have evolved or changed completely. Everybody has been so kind to me and for that, I'm truly grateful.

So, without further adieu, I present to you the Urban Decay Book of Shadows III (UD Loves NYC) palette (limited edition, $54 USD). With this palette you get: 16 eye shadows, two 24/7 eyeliners, and a mini Primer Potion. Did I mention that it lights up too?!

Click here for additional info!

The Rules:

I thought about this for a while. The rules are going to be very simple. Everyone gets one fair shot at this palette. Believe it or not, some people don't have Twitter or Facebook or a blog, for that matter. I don't think it's fair to offer extra chances that only some people are able to partake in. Aside from that, I don't expect you to go out of your way and advertise my blog for me. I appreciate it, but I don't expect it. I don't care how many followers I have, I'm just grateful that some people find my blog worth reading.

However, you must be subscribed to this blog in order to participate because this giveaway is after all, my thanks to you. Just enter a comment saying anything. You can tell me what your favorite shadow is from this palette or your favorite mascara ever. Anything. Just include your name and email so I can contact you if you win. Besides, since I have so few followers, this boosts your chances of winning! Pretty cool, eh?

**This contest is open to ALL**

The deadline for this giveaway is Friday December 31, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EST. GOOD LUCK!

Disclosure: This giveaway is hosted by me. I purchased this product myself. 

Birthday Goodies

So, I turned 22 this past Saturday, the 7th, and I had a very nice birthday with my boyfriend and daughter. Dinner, Netflix, a day of total relaxation -- just what I wanted / needed! I even got a few goodies that I've had on my wishlist for a while. Sorry I didn't post this sooner, but my daughter hasn't been feeling well since yesterday but she's napping now. Anyway, there's just a couple of things, so I'll do my best to keep this short and sweet =)

MAC 239 Brush

I like getting the MAC pamphlets in the mail =)

I feel like there are certain brushes that you just need to have duplicates of. For me, this includes the 239, 266, 168, and I'm sure there's another one that I can't think of at the moment...

NARS Angelika Blush

I had the most difficult time trying to capture the true color of this blush. Angelika is a cool blue-pink cotton candy color that looks very intense in the pan. This was the best I could get it, but the true color is more intense looking than this. 

Again, the true color is more intense. This is a very pigmented blush, so you have to be careful not to apply too much. Sometimes, I like to buff it out with a kabuki brush so it looks more subtle. Also, keep in mind that it doesn't look glittery on the skin!

NARS Lip Gloss in Dolce Vita & Striptease

I got these lip glosses using the code "TEMPTALIA" on narscosmetics.com (expires 8/15). The offer was originally for three individual mini lip glosses, but now they're offering the duo. I knew I'd love Dolce Vita but I was pleasantly surprised that I ended up loving Striptease too. On its own, I could never pull off Striptease because these kinds of neutrals wash me out, big time. When I dab it on my lips over a lipstick, like MAC Lazy Day (LE), I just really love the muted effect it offers. Both colors are beautiful! Also, there's free shipping on any order over $25 using the code, "25FREESHIP".... which almost everything is $25+ so it shouldn't be hard to become eligible (lol).

On a side note, I know a lot of people don't like NARS lip glosses because of the "smell". I'd like to add that I think the smell is so faint, it's dismissable. Then again, when I like something enough, I never let those things offend me.

China Glaze: Ruby Pumps

This color is gorgeous. So unbelievably gorgeous. I haven't tried it out yet, but I'll take pictures when I do.

Last, but certainly not least......

The NAKED PALETTE!

I purchased this online from Ulta last Monday and just got it two days ago. In my opinion, this truly lives up to the hype. The colors are gorgeous. I love neutrals of almost any kind. This palette is fun, the colors are gorgeous, and the possibilities are endless. I'm going to dedicate a whole post to this palette when I get to try out more looks with it and I'll post them. I'll also include swatches in the post as well. I was going to do it today, but my boyfriend and a bunch of guys are framing out an addition to our house so I would've felt a little silly walking around with my camera and an arm full of eye shadow. I did swatch the liners though!

Whiskey on top, Zero on the bottom

Isn't it GORGEOUS?!