Giveaway Time! - Win Revlon Nails

I am giving away Revlon's Runway Collection artificial nails in styles "Sequins" and "Starlet" to two (2) lucky From Head To Toe readers! That's right. Each winner will receive both "Sequins" and "Stella" to beautify their fingertips.



It's easy to enter. Just leave a comment telling your name, why you'd like to win, and include your e-mail address SPELLED OUT.
(example: frmheadtotoe (at) gmail (dot) com)

This contest is open to everyone but you can only enter once. The winners will be picked randomly and will be contacted by e-mail. Entries must be submitted by Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 11:59PM CST.

Good luck!

Purple Party FOTD

I've still been sick lately so today I'm going to post a rather old FOTD (you'll notice my older hair) that I never got around to posting. Unfortunately, since it was from a while ago, I don't actually remember what products I used but I will try to remember what I can. I typically take a photo of the things I used to help remember but I happened to forget this time. FOTD fail. T.T

Anyhow, I loved this look so much that I'm going to post it anyway. This is a nice go-to party look. In fact, I actually did wear it to a party and I was generally pleased. If you have a purple or black prom dress, this would also work for prom too.

I believe I used NYX purple shadow on the lid with the highlight color from the "NARS" palette. I applied NYX Morocco to the bottom lash line as well as for outer-v definition. I also applied white shadow from a Revlon quad to the inner corners. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack was on the upper lid and smudged onto the lower lashline too. I topped the eyes with Shisem falsies. Since this look was eye-heavy, I kept the lips neutral with a nude lipgloss.


Smiles Ü


A close-up




And my outfit: Oversized white top - Forever21, Fuscia tank - Wet Seal, Jersey scarf - Urban Outfitters, Black skinny jeans - Sirens, Leopard-print slingbacks - VanEli



Coming soon are tutorial videos for "Dolly Eyes" makeup and Japanese-style curls. And Mineral Magic Cosmetics have been generous enough to sponsor some AWESOME giveaways that I'll be showcasing in the near future! Who doesn't love freebies, right? Really awesome, really soon. :)

Revlon Runway Collection + Polish Haul (Video Review)

Hey guys! I decided to make a little video review (my first speaking video! ahhh!) of a product I tried out called Revlon Runway Collection, which are quite convincing artificial nails, and a few nail polishes I got recently. Although I don't get my nails done very often, it's something that I think is a luxury and makes me feel like my hands are very clean, polished, and elegant. The bad part about it is the cost and the fact that it can ruin your natural nails underneath, so I think this is a good alternative.



Here are a few photos I took.





The bad:
* May be difficult to match your nail size exactly. I need to file a couple on the sides to be comfortable and clip a couple of my nails shorter.
* The glue sticks to skin VERY quickly. Feels like super glue. You have to be careful not to get it on your skin or stuck on the design side of the nail.
* Can be difficult to avoid air bubbles underneath plastic nail.

The good:
* It comes with an orange stick and small nail file to perfect the shape of the nail and prep them for application.
* Makes my cuticles look AWESOME.
* A really, really nice length. Elegant, but not too long that it hurts to make a fist.
* Really looks like acrylics at a nail salon but much cheaper!
* Applies quickly and feels very strong.
* Lasts 7-10 days with no problems washing hands or showering.
* Doesn't chip like polish.

Overall:
I was honestly impressed with these. I tried press-on nails with the sticker adhesive before and it barely stayed on for an hour and didn't match the curve of my nail. I felt that these were actually very comfortable and the shape of the curve is good. It makes me wish I were in high school again so that I could wear it to prom because they feel and act just like acrylic nails, except with a little more bling.

I'm planning on doing more videos like this in the future with makeup and hair tutorials. Would you guys also like to see more hauls or swatches in video form? Let me know in the comments what you'd like to see.

Fixing a few bugs...

Not sure what's going on but looks like I need to clean up something strange on my domain. The domain will be going down temporarily but feel free to still check up directly on my blogspot url: http://www.frmheadtotoe.blogspot.com

Most of you should probably be automatically redirected to the blogspot anyway. Sorry about not having the header! I'll try to fix it soon and have things running smoothly again.

EDIT: I think things are fixed now but if you have any problems please leave me a comment and tell me what's wrong. If you had issues before, try clearing your cache and reloading the page. Thanks guys. :)

Crazy Life and Vassen Circle Lenses

Hello everyone. My life has honestly been pretty crazy lately due to a few random health speed-bumps that have spontaneously piled on top of each other. I think it's nothing too serious, but we shall see for sure after monitoring things for a bit.

One thing that has cheered me up lately was a most generous gift I was sent by the awesome Gregg. I know a lot of you love seeing lens pics and, although I don't wear them often, I do have a soft spot for colored lenses. These happen to be from the Korean brand Vassen which manufactures TONS of styles and colors of circle lenses. (Circle lenses are Asian lenses that give the person a wide-eyed "dolly" look due to their larger iris and limbal ring diameter.)

They are the "4COLOR" style in 2 Tone G (brown). I don't really understand how that makes sense, but regardless I really like these! I always wanted to try Tutti or Angel browns and I think these are a really similar dupe. They may be closer to Angels as these are a cool brown and have a thick limbal ring, but that is just judging from photos I've seen online.

Forgive my lack of mascara and good makeup, but I was anxious to try them out.


A close-up for you lens hounds:



I'm actually liking them more than I thought. With most circle lenses I've tried in the past, I've found them to be too overwhelming on my small face but these seem more like they bring the eyes a bit of a "charming" look. Maybe it's the color being the right shade of medium brown. Tutti greys made me look like an alien because the color was so dark. BT02 browns were just HUGE. I think I prefer this pattern more anyway. It blends with my eyes nicely and for the short time I wore them, they were very comfy.

I can't wait to wear them with a full-on makeup look that will really do them justice. Maybe I will attempt an over-the-top Asian princess-style net idol look! I just need to get one of those mini-tiaras. Ahaha. Should be so much fun.

Okay, dinnertime again! See ya~

Mineral Magic Eyeshadow Swatches

Hey everyone! So I recently got the opportunity to try out some eyeshadows from a really excellent company called Mineral Magic Cosmetics. This company is cruelty-free and has all-vegan products that are titanium-free and paraben-free. It personally takes a lot for me to really fall in love with a company's eyeshadows, especially mineral makeup, because I find that a lot of companies don't make colors that are pigmented enough (hello, Everyday Minerals, I'm talking to you!) What can I say. I'm picky! I have medium skintone and I don't want another company making medium tones that just don't show up on my skin.

I wasn't expecting a miracle when I received these but boy was I blown away. These babies are PIGMENTED. They don't even market these as super-pigmented like Limecrime but seriously the pigmentation is, dare I say, better.

I took a bunch of swatch pictures but some of these don't even do them justice. They are stare-in-the-mirror pretty and it's difficult to capture all of the sheen, sparkle, and duochromey goodness of all of them. I will try though, so here goes! Top photo is by a light, and bottom is by the window. The descriptions were just my best trying to describe these gorgeous colors. :)


Bubbly - very pretty iridescent satin-finish champagne with shimmer

Opal - satin pink-beige almost duochrome with pink shimmer

Sunflower - very pale, buttery cream yellow high luster

Bird - very pigmented canary yellow high luster

Tickle - high-shine metallic medium-light gold with shimmer



Rapture - WOAH. looks pink in pot but very duochrome pink-mint green high luster

Doodles - Warm, clay-brown matte with champagne shimmer

Glory - high-shine warm metallic bronze

Respect - metallic burnt-burgundy luster

Boogey Man - deep, deep brownish-blackish matte with tiny holographic glitters



Love - Hot cherry-coral high luster

Citrus - warm coral reflective satin

Red Wine - super pigmented metallic reddish burgundy

Ruby - warm metallic brick red

Hot Pink - crazy pigmented, matte hot pink



Laughter - lavendar matte with tiny champagne glitters

Rio - pigmented lilac-aqua duochrome high luster

Blackmore - cool-toned berry purple with slight pink duochrome satin

Goth Girl - really unique burgundy brown-celadon duochrome high luster

Galaxy - cool-toned luster black with slight reflective jade green duochrome



Delilah - minty toothpaste pearl green frost

Willow - light olive green with gorgeous gold high luster

Self Control - mint green frost. shimmery and airy in all lights.

Dream - chlorine-aqua blue frost. also shimmers in all lights.

Star Sapphire - Deep, pigmented true royal blue matte with slight holographic glitters


Aren't these colors just ridiculous? I love it! If you want to get your hands on these (as you should...seriously I'm not getting paid for this, it is just SO GOOD) you can find these on http://www.mineralmagiccosmetics.com/. I also have a current discount code for you ladies on a budget. If you use code springtime you can get 25% off your order.


I've been a little under the weather lately so no look this time with these, but soon! I'm planning on doing a really intense look for a youtube video with these, and I think it will be lots of fun. Maybe a rainbow, monolid look? What do you guys think? Any requests? Shout out color combos and maybe I'll give it a try. I can already see that old Hyori "Hey Girl" look formulating perfectly with these greens and blues!

New Hair!

Hey everyone! If this entry seems at all hyped up, it is because I have just narrowly escaped the frightening grasp of 5 giant honeybees that were on the INSIDE of the window of the very room I am typing in. They were spaced out so that I couldn't swat or contain one without disturbing the others in a mass killing frenzy. I don't know about you guys but I have a totally irrational and inappropriate fear of bees and wasps. I have nightmares about gargantuan ones landing on my neck, trying to kill me. I literally called my dad and had him drive over to my apartment (don't freak, only 1 block away) with some bug-zapping spray while I shouted from the living room.

Dad 5, Bees 0. My dad is a superhero.


ANYWAY, this newfound adrenaline rush has inspired me to share with you my new haircut. As promised, here is the new hair. It was inspired by these two photos:

Korean pop singer Ayumi


Ashley Olsen


I really wanted lots of shorter layers but keeping the length I had the same. My goal is to grow my hair out really crazy long with lots and lots of layers like the adorable Chinese and Japanese models. I have a lot of hair so even thinned out with layers it is still pretty full compared to Ayumi and Ashley but it's okay, I've learned to live with it. :)

Here is my hair right after getting it cut. It has no styling done to it. Still long but a little edgier and a LOT lighter-feeling.




And here is my hair after I curled it for Easter.




With "Japanese curls" style:



I'm pretty happy with it so far. Mainly it feels so much better. The damaged ends were cut off and my hair is soft and shiny. A good haircut indeed. :)

Oh, I also wanted to show you guys my mom's nails. I stayed home from work on Monday because I wasn't feeling well so she came over and I gave her a nice, simple konadicure. I used the rose pattern from GCOCL plate C02 with my favorite Sally Hansen chrome polish in pink pearl over Zoya Paris.



Pretty combination of colors, no? I thought it looked pretty classy. I was going to post SOOOO much more, but this has already been long-winded so maybe next time. I'm once again way backed up on photos and things I need to post so don't be surprised if my hair is at all lengths. :P

Pretty sure I gotta go eat dinner now so until next time~

Happy Easter! New Shop Items!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a lovely day with family, friends, or just by yourself. I had a wonderful time celebrating the day at the in-laws' home with a great lunch (homemade asian salad with mandarin oranges and toasted almonds. fried chicken. fresh fruit. mashed potatoes. corn. droooool.) and a mid-day nap to digest the yummy yummies.

I got my haircut yesterday so I will have pics of soon of that. It's so crazy how a haircut can either make you feel awful for the rest of the day (or week) or it can make you feel awesome. Thankfully, this was an awesome haircut. My head feels so light and airy even though I didn't get any length cut except maybe 1 inch to take off split ends. I just love how healthy it feels now. Good times.

Another awesome thing this weekend was an awesome trip to an awesome university to celebrate my bff Megan's White Coat Ceremony. She will officially be a vet in 1 year. Congratulations Megan! You are so wonderful and intelligent and awesome! I am so proud of you. :)

While in town, I happened to randomly stop by a "beauty wholesale" store and picked up some beautiful Essie polishes that were on sale. This is St. Barths Blue, Chastity, and Who's She Red. Forgive my crappy photo, but more beautiful swatch photos will come in the future.



I thought the light blue was gorgeous and perfect for Easter. It is like a paler version of the recent promo's Sag Harbor. Pale, greyed-blue with a bit of silver shimmer. Kind of a goopy formula, but my trusty Seche Vite topcoat smoothed out even the very worst of it.

By the window:


And here is my festive Konadicure. I used white Heaven polish for the lace pattern from m71 and my Sally Hansen Chrome polish for the bunny from m30.



Speaking of bunnies and lace, I put a whole bunch of new cosmetic items in the shop today including many from the recent NYX haul. For those of you who are overseas or don't have access to NYX, here is your chance to try some of their products. Just click the "SHOP" icon at the top. If you don't see this, reload the blog at http://www.frmheadtotoe.com.

I'm going to eat a late dinner now and hope work this week will go well after my mini-vacation!


Peace~

Almost Sunshine FOTD

Winter, winter go away, I want it to be consistently in the 70's please! I actually took these a while ago when I had the yellow nails, so this is a tribute (again) to Spring. Maybe if I do a sun-dance (like the Native American rain-dances?) it will make the sun shine more. I solemnly promise to wear more coral, yellow, and pastels!

-dances-

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? No? Okay, guess I'll stick to the makeup.


This look was again using my favorite yellow, Circus Girl from Limecrime. I don't know whoever came up with the rule about not matching your eyeshadow to your clothes, but I love to anyway. I'm matchy-matchy like that. I think I used NYX Golden Orange for the outer-v and Vanilla Sky for the highlight color. And my favorite NYX Jumbo Shadow pencil for the tear ducts to bring a little sparkle to the eyes. Topped with my favorite Shisem falsies (XOG 특). Since the eyes were so bright, I kept the rest of the face pretty natural.


A close-up look at the pretty, pretty yellow color.


Clean face, messy desk.


And a look at the outfit. Black turtleneck - Old Navy, Coral sweater-vest - Forever 21, jeans - 7FAMK from Nordstroms kids', boots - Stephane Kelian from ebay, cut crystal necklace - gift from a friend



Alright, now I am going to go get a much-needed haircut and sift through my makeup and clothes to put up a few things in the shop. Have a happy Saturday and a FANTASTIC EASTER tomorrow!!


XOXO


EDIT:

Totally check this out. I guess NYX is having another lot sale. Different items this time. There are a lot of shadows, glosses, eye liners, false lashes, and liquid makeup. I think I'll pass this time since I just ordered two heels from Cinderella of Boston, but for those who missed out last time, here's your chance!

Urban Decay and NYX sales

Just wanted to pop in really quick to say that Urban Decay is having a 30% off Friends and Family sale. Use code FNFS9 now through April 17th.



They of course sell my favorite eyeshadow primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP for short) and they have really awesome, pigmented shadows. I've also been dying to try out their 24/7 eyeliners. Anyone have one in zero who would be willing to swap for MAC stuff?

I also saw on Pursebuzz that there will be a huge NYX sale at NYX Cosmetics. Everything will be 50% off! Crazy good, and nice to know my swatches will be coming in handy for some of you. :)



Happy shopping everyone. :)

Transitional Skirts

I know I keep saying this over and over, but the weather where I live is really crazy. It will be 80F one day and 28F the very next with a foot of snow. To accommodate, I've had to use some creativity when I want to wear those pretty late Winter or Spring dresses and skirts.

Now, I'm probably crossing a lot of fashion faux pas, but this was just what I had worn. These photos were just randoms that I took in the last few weeks. As much as I love skirts and dresses, sometimes you need to prepare for unpredictable weather. For me that means lots of layers, leggings, double-layers of leggings, legwarmers, boots, scarves, and hats. I also wear a long-sleeved thermal shirt under cardigans and some type of scarf almost every day. I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!

In the meantime, I'll share a few of my outfits that have held me over.

Breakdown: Black thermal long-sleeve shirt, sweater dress, double-layered leggings, long pink hoodie, cashmere scarf, sweater boots


Breakdown: knit hat, beige thermal long-sleeve shirt, navy sweater tunic-dress, cropped cardigan, grey sweater-skirt, double-layered brown leggings, cream legwarmers, camel-colored boots


Breakdown: White ribbed long-sleeved shirt, tank top, tan zip-up lightweight hoodie, yellow skirt, beige legwarmers, woven leather wedge heels



These went from coldest to warmest. I won't give up wearing skirts in freezing weather! And come on, wearing leggings is way more comfy than wearing jeans any day. Who's with me?

You guys need to let me know your techniques for dealing with cold weather. I try to mix it up, but somehow the same combo keeps coming up. Anyone feel like they get stuck in this rut too?

By the way, I thoroughly apologize to all you Aussies who are living in a heat stroke. ;) I'm sure we are both desperately jealous of each other right now! Ahh, the weather change will come soon for us both. I just need to learn to be more patient.





Haha. Yeah right.

NYX Shadow Swatches - My Entire Collection

Hey all!

I've been working all evening preparing all of my NYX shadows to be swatched for you guys. In total, I counted 67 unique single eyeshadows and 7 trios. 43 of the shadows were of course from the NYX lot sale as well as 5 of the trios. I know I had a tough time finding swatches online when I went to buy mine so I thought it would be helpful swatching the ones I had for you guys. This took a lot of time and energy so I would appreciate it if you would please not post these anywhere without my permission. ;)

These are mostly in numerical order, with a couple accident exceptions. I used a thin layer of UDPP as a base. If these swatches aren't perfect, I apologize as I swatched them all with q-tips for sanitary reasons in case I sell them.

Okay, here goes! My favorites have a * beside them. To be fair, I haven't tried a lot of these out on my eyes yet so there are colors I love that aren't starred!

SINGLE SHADOWS

*01 black, 02 white, 06 dark brown, 08 october sky, *19 flamingo


*24 herb, 30 khaki, 36 chocolate, *37 sweet lagoon, 39 slate


40 ocean frost, 42 grey, *45 opal, *46 navy, *47 kiwi


50 salmon, *32 purple, 53 velvet blue, *54 hot cherry, 56 ocean


58 peach, 59 hot pink, 60 aqua, 62 space, 63 platinum silver


65 red bean, 66 luster, 67 shimmer, *68 golden orange, 72 walnut bronze


75 jazzy bronze, 77 aqua marine, 78 beanie, 80 mink brown, *101 mermaid green


82 jade, 83 skin, 84 toffee, *85 sunset, *87 lime juice


88 algae, *90 apricot moose, *93 atlantic, *104 star, 106 golden dune


*107 vanilla sky, *116 wild fire, *119 cream cheese, *122 morocco, 128 karet


129 mediterranean, 130 wild flower, 131 dust, 132 alaska, 133 olive green


134 cedar wood, *136 almond, *140 snow cone, *143 eggplant, 145 marrakesh


*146 egg white, 147 pink oleander, 150 eutopia, 151 earthy, 153 ballerina


155 halaiwa

SHADOW TRIOS

*12 golden/rust/walnut bronze


*34 team spirit


02 baby pink/barely there/cotton candy


26 velvet blue/ocean frost/space


28 princess pink/flamingo/violet


29 white/tropical/silver


30 baby pink/white pearl/baby blue






WAAAH, swatch attack!!! Look how pretty and pigmented they are!

Okay, hope that helps everyone interested in NYX shadows. Please let me know what your favorite NYX shadow color is in the comments, even if I haven't swatched it here. I'd love to know what you like, and if there are any more I should get!

Puahahaha~