I haven't posted nails in what feels like forever which means that I have been really behind! I just can't help it. I get bored with my nails looking the same way for too long, and I have to put my polish collection to good use, right?

Seriously, I bought so many this year that I don't even have a desire to buy any more right now until I have at least tried wearing all of the polishes I've hauled. It'll probably last me a while!

This'll be short and sweet. The swatches tell more than anything I can say to describe it, so here are a ton of nail pics.

OPI Princess Rule!
Love this so, so much. Way more sparkly in real life.


Essie Who's She Red
Tried out a half-moon mani like Dita Von Teese. Ironically found this pic after I did the mani! Very retro-chic.



Did a friend's nails using For Audrey and China Glaze Passion for konading. I love how metallic polish looks konaded over creme polish.


Here is my attempt at recreating the Japanese OPI Designer Series Divine polish that I fell in love with after seeing it at the nailphile.

The Nailphile's pics




My try using China Glaze How About A Tumble over OPI Your Royal Shyness. The sparkly particles aren't quite as large, but I was really happy with the result. Crazy holo in the sun! Couldn't stop staring at my nails with this on.




And I decided it needed a little zebra Konading. This cheap black Rimmel polish works surprisingly well with Konad.


OPI Breathe Life.
Part of the proceeds go to Lung Cancer Research. My pics don't show, but this polish is incredible. Glowy, semi-transparent (but not annoyingly so) and slightly duochrome. Really surprised me how much I loved this. It's a light bluish-green, pearly shade in light, and has a violet-blue look in the shade. So cool!



And finally, my current nails. Orly Goth.
Again, my photos do no justice to the sparkles. It looks like stars in the sky, with different-sized silver particles.

Hubs: "Are you wearing emo nails on purpose?"
Me: "It's not emo. It has SPARKLES!"
Hubs: "It's still emo."




Oh, men and their ignorance to fashion nails. Am I right ladies? Black is not emo, sparkles are not childish, and nude is not a real nail color, even if it is people's "natural" nail color. Don't get me wrong, I love my reds and pinks, but variety is the spice of life! And I like my nails spicy. :)

In the comments, name and describe your favorite nail polish. I want to know why you love it so much. Surely it's not just me who loves being distracted by my nails!

A lot of you have been asking me about BB Creams and if I've tried any before. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, BB Cream or "blemish balm" is a type of makeup that has swept Asia the last couple of years. It is similar to liquid foundation but is touted to have medicinal benefits and apparently was developed to help heal and conceal patients' skin after laser treatments and surgery.

I'm not sure how much of that has trickled down into mainstream bb creams, but it was enough hype to warrant at least trying it, right?

I bought mine from an ebay auction and got the type DermaRX from Skin79. I've heard that this one is good for acne-prone skin and is a bit darker than others, as well as having fairly good oil control. One bad things about bb creams is that they usually only come in 1 or 2 shades and as you will see, this is a bit grey on me.

I wanted to show the BB Cream size for comparison. This is a China Glaze nailpolish next to it. Pretty small tube, plus it is flatter on the sides.


Skin79 DermaRX Beblesh Balm (beblesh because "blemish balm" was copyrighted), MAC Studio Sculpt foundation NC30, Sugar Tinted Moisturizer


Swatches: DermaRX is a bit grey, Studio Sculpt is closest but a bit too yellow, and Sugar is much too dark and orange. This is natural light.


Indoor light.


Skin79 DermaRX on my face.



Again, it's a bit light and grey on me. Not that bad though, and it does seep in more and match better after a few minutes. I thought the coverage was nice, light to medium applied with a foundation brush but you can layer on areas you need more coverage. I didn't find the oil control to be awesome, but I seem to get oily with any liquid foundations so it wasn't a surprise. Added benefits are that it has spf 20, tea tree oil for acne, and arbutin for whitening. Overall though, I find that I do prefer mineral foundation for everyday use as this still feels like liquid foundation to me.

Off and on lately, I've been mixing my facial moisturizer with a bit of DermaRX and the sugar tinted moisturizer to get my own color match and it's been working out quite well. After topping with Everyday Minerals Finishing Dust, coverage lasts longer than mineral makeup.

Too bad I'm just not a liquid makeup fan. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. I'm just too busy to apply it and mix-and-match everyday! I bought 2 tubes so I'll probably list the unopened one in my blog shop soon.

So, let me know in the comments. Have you tried bb creams? Which ones? What are your favorites? I may not give up completely on bb creams just yet if I can find a really good one that matches my skin better. :)

As promised, here is part II of lens madness! This time I received a wonderful package from S2Janie of www.prettyandcute.com containing EOS Adult lenses in Grey. She is a great resource for buying circle lenses (colored contact lenses that enlarge your iris) and her shipping was safe and fast, plus she gives out freebies! I got a cute, blue Snoopy lens case. (please check out her lens shop if you are interested in circle lenses and please let her know Jen sent you!)

Not sure if they are a fairly newer series, but I haven't seen too many people wearing Adult lenses online yet. I will say that the pattern of these lenses are what drew me to them though. It's gorgeous and crystallized. There is no harsh limbal ring, only a soft violet one so it seems to look pretty natural. It doesn't enlarge much, but I prefer this type to lenses that make me look like an alien.

Here is a photo of the promo image of this lens.



It's difficult to really see the pattern from that small image but I can't seem to find any online that are higher quality. After doing some research, I think the lens type also goes under the code E-203 and also be sold by the company ColorVue. No concrete proof on that though, just my speculation.

I was hoping that it would look like a true grey on me, like in the promotional image, but the lens was more lavendar or sky blue on me. It changed depending on the lighting which is pretty cool, just not what I was expecting.

This is the same position, just with flash and without taken in my bathroom. See how the color is totally different?


With flash, bathroom light, and natural light.


Bathroom light makes it look violet


Natural light makes it look more grey or blue-grey


Violet-looking again!


Greyer



What's this?


Dragon tear-drop


I love these lenses so much! From farther away...


And close-up they sparkle


And this one turned out a lot like the promo image. I thought it showed the pattern well.



So I think these are officially my new favorite lens! They are quite noticeable and actually blend in well. You wouldn't think that would be so for such a light-colored lens. A part of me still does wish that it was grey-grey all the time, but I still think the blue and violet tints it turns are still flattering on me so it's not that bad. They are thinner than Soloticas also, but with just as much impact. I can't wait to see how these look with professional photography! I really want to try the E.O.S. Adult browns next to see if they sparkle as much as these do. :D

Just for comparison, I took more photos with the Hidrocharme Verde Marines on the same day so I'll show a few more next time. I think they came out better than last time. Yay for lens-porn.

Let me know what you think of these lenses! Also, let me know what your favorite lens color is. My first favorite was green, but I think blue/grey has officially won me over. :)

J

Hello everyone! This will be lens madness week as I have a couple of new lenses to show you. I am very excited about these and although I am not a frequent lens wearer, I do love the extra pop it can give eyes for special occasions and photos. I hope you guys find the photos and reviews helpful. ^^

The first are a pair of Soloticas that were generously sent to me from wrlens.com. Although I haven't personally ordered through their website, the people I talked to were very kind and their website is very user-friendly since it is already set up in English. They also have an informative blog with real photos of the lenses in eyes as well as video reviews. From my experience, they are also quick to answer e-mails.

I already have tried ocre, mel, and ice so I thought I would get something new this time. Verde Marine is an aqua color which is a very bright bluish-green. In most photos I've seen of this color, the color has leaned more toward bright blue but in natural light on me, it looks almost hulk green at times. Maybe it is because I have very dark eyes and have red undertones in my eyes. I have no idea.

Anyway, here are my photos:

My package of goodies. There was a nylon Solotica backpack-sack, bubble-wrapped lenses, lens case (color matches lens color), and a note.



It came like this. Weird that it was ripped. But I think the name is the same guy at wrlens who sent me the package.


Pretty lenses! See how the pattern gets more translucent in the center? This gives the lens a blended pupil for a more natural look.


Opening the bottle



And here are a few photos of the verde marines in my eyes:

(all without flash) next to my cosmetic light, next to window, batrhoom light


bathroom light


how it looks from farther away


by the window


in direct sunlight


window behind me


window again


And a couple of me just being silly.




Overall, I do like these lenses but I think I prefer my hidrocharme ices. I would've liked these to have been a bit more blue and I'm not sure if it's just the camera or what, but I think these make me look more tan. They are not a very natural color. I also didn't do any color-correcting in my photos and the camera made me look either too yellow or too red with these on. Very strange! They are very fun and dramatic lenses though. If you like drama, these are for you. I also think they'd be more flattering with lighter hair.

Stay tuned for my review on EOS Adult Grey lenses next time. :)