Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyeshadows~ Swatches and Review Part 2

This review is going to feature Periwinkle Cardinal and Delicate Hummingbird.

To view Abyssinian Catbird and Resplendent Quetzal go to Part One!

Or there is Bashful Flamingo and Fire-Tailed Sunbird in Part Three.

Male and Female Northern Cardinals

Firstly for Periwinkle Cardinal. Gosh this name kills me. No Cardinals are Periwinkle in colour. None. There are 3 species of Cardinal, the Northern Cardinal as seen above, the Vermillion Cardinal a slightly orangey but still red cardinal and the Desert Cardinal seen below.

Desert Cardinal from E.J. Photo

As evidenced from the photos none of these birds are purple-blue (i.e. periwinkle). None of these birds are the green-blue of this eyeshadow either. WHYYYY?!!?!?
As a zoology major this bothers me. There are so many lovely birds that would fit this eyeshadow perfectly, even ones that are related to Cardinals such as the Indigo Bunting.

Indigo Bunting from Birds of Corpus Christi

Anyways, for this post we also have Delicate Hummingbird. This is also not named after a specific species of Hummingbird but I think we can all agree that Hummingbirds in general are rather delicate so I don't mind so much. Here are some photos of Hummingbirds that match the purple-taupe of this eyeshadow. See the purple-taupe bits on his belly?

Purple-Throated Mountain-Gem Hummingbird from Jim Scarff photography

Purple-throated Mountain-gem Hummingbird photo by Latafat Correa

So gorgeous!

L: Periwinkle Cardinal, R: Delicate Hummingbird

Periwinkle Cardinal is interesting as depending on the light it can look medium pine green with blue undertones, or blue with silver undertones. On the lid it's semi-sheer meaning it looks like your skin shows through the shadow at certain angles but not when you change the way the light hits it. If you build it up you can get a more intense look but it never quite covers your skin colour entirely. This allows it to be very wearable of course but is something to keep in mind if you like a more pigmented eyeshadow look. Personally for the depth of colour I was expecting something more pigmented as this semi-sheer consistency is better for a highlighter shade in my opinion. Delicate Hummingbird is similar in that sometimes it looks distinctly purple whereas other times it looks quite silver-taupe.

Left pair is over bare skin, middle is over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Right is over Pixie Epoxy

As you can tell Delicate Hummingbird is the more pigmented shade. It's easy to build up and almost creamy in texture. It's also the longer lasting one, actually living up to the claim of long lasting. As with Abyssinian Catbird in the first part it seems to do best over bare skin for the long-lasting claim. Periwinkle Cardinal seems to fade over time, but lasts slightly more than Resplendent Quetzal from part one. It doesn't however last all day and it doesn't seem to do well over primer either. 

T-B: Urban Decay Flipside, Hi-Fi Slime and Snails, Barry M Kingfisher, Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal, Too Faced Rich Bitch duo blue side, Wet n' Wild dark green from Snow Sprite palette, Urban Decay Misdemenor

As you can see none of these really comes close to Rouge Bunny Rouge's Periwinkle Cardinal. Too Faced Rich Bitch has no green tones and has a gold highlight, whereas Hi-Fi's Slime and snails isn't as deep has a duochrome and mini glitter as well as lacking green undertones. They all seem to lack the silvered sage look that Periwinkle Cardinal has too.

Top: Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal, Bottom: Darling Girl Serenity

Then thinking I was finished of course I found a closer shadow match for Periwinkle Cardinal. Darling Girl's Serenity is very close in tone and just a tad bluer. It's also sparklier whereas the Rouge Bunny Rouge shadow is more satin-metallic in finish. Honestly on the eye I think either would work.

T-B: Urban Decay AC/DC, Urban Decay Mushroom, Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird, Scaredy Cat Cosmetics Arctic Royal, Almay Green Eyes Trio purple shade

Delicate Hummingbird I actually found a very close dupe for as well. Surprisingly it was in one of my old Almay trio palettes called Trio for Green Eyes. The purple shade (if you can get ahold of that palette, I think it was discontinued but may still be avaiable online in some places) is a satin, less silvered version of Delicate Hummingbird. Delicate Hummingbird has better pigmentation and is a tad more complex but they are very close.

Would I buy these shades again? Though I have a dupe of the Delicate Hummingbird I would purchase this shade again due to the lovely pigmentation it has the neutral but still fun shade of it and the decent wear-time. The Periwinkle Cardinal I would not purchase again however due to the strange semi-sheer consistency of it. If I wanted that it would be great but I was hoping for a richer more true to pan colour, as it is a lovely unique shade. The only way I can see myself wearing this shade is over Pixie Epoxy whereas at least with Delicate Hummingbird I can wear it without extra prep.

Sprite Rating: 8.5/10 for Delicate Hummingbird, 6.5/10 for Periwinkle Cardinal

What does everyone think? Do you like either shade?

Marc Jacobs Gel Crayons~ Swatches and First Impression

If you haven't heard there is a new brand out at Sephora by Marc Jacobs. I am unsure about the animal-testing status of the company. I'm going to try and find out more and will update here when I do. I haven't purchased anything from the line, I'd like to say (and I won't until I can determine the animal-testing status) I merely swatched the products in store.

These gel pencils are supposed to be an innovative for their use of a gel texture. I'm sure I've seen something similar before but I can't remember from where. First though here are the swatches.

T-B: Th(Ink), Intro(Vert), N(Ice), Ro(Cocoa), Jazz(Berry), Blacquer

T-B: Th(Ink), Intro(Vert), N(Ice), Ro(Cocoa), Jazz(Berry), Blacquer

The best shade by far was Blacquer- super opaque, super gel-cream texture, really really easy to apply- it just glides on. Ro(Cocoa) comes in second place just a tad behind Blacquer with the same texture and almost as good of pigmentation. It is a lovely satin shade of medium-dark brown.

Unfortunately the good dies off a bit after those two. Of the rest Th(Ink) an indigo shade (a dark blue with purple undertones, think blueberries) is the next best. This however doesn't have the same texture as the other two instead being much drier and lacking the 'gel' cream. You can build up the pigmentation with this until you get the desired result and a couple passes gets rid of any patchiness. N(Ice) and Intro(Vert) are about tied in terms pigmentation. Kind of patchy also and needing multiple passes. Also dry in texture in comparison with the first two shades. These two are also the sparkliest of the selection. Intro(Vert) is a kelly green and N(Ice) is a glittery silver. Finally Jazz(Berry) the most interesting colour in the line and the worst performer. Swatched so so patchy and seriously took way too much work to get the swatch I did. And if you look at the top picture you can still see the patchiness. Very disappointing, especially as the colour is so nice- berry with a burgundy metallic.

One thing I will say about these though is that they are really hard to get off! I seriously scrubbed at these swatches with a cotton round soaked with makeup remover and they barely budged. I still have remnants on my wrist where I couldn't get these all off!

Anyone seen the Marc Jacobs Beauty line yet? Does anyone know their animal testing status? What do you think of these liners?

Sephora OPI Spring~ Urban Ballerina Collection

Sephora OPI's spring collection has just been released and it's theme is a pretty modern ballet one! Called Urban Ballerina the collection brings to mind downtown city performances and classic ballet. I am actually quite intrigued despite the fact I'm neither a fan of charcoals or pinks! Here is the swatches Sephora's website provided.

First up is Break A Leg Warmer, an opaque Charcoal Grey which most likely has a cream finish. Most certainly reminds me of city lofts and architecture!

Leotard Optional is a nude shade, described as an opaque mocha beige. It also likely has a cream finish, and defiantly looks like the body suits in some ballet performances.

Let's Plie is described as an opaque metallic light beige, though it's a very pinked beige in my opinion. I think it looks like the satin finish of pointe shoes. Can't wait to see a swatch of this!

Shiny Dancer is another metallic though this one reminds me more of actual metals. Sephora describes it as an opaque slate with fine iridescent glitter that from the swatch looks silver in colour. Not too unique but interesting.

Comparing the bottle image and this swatch I'm fairly sure one of these is off in colour by quite a bit. Either way though The Way Tutu His Heart is a typical ballet colour, opaque light pink. How light and how purple-pink or yellow-pink the actual colour is, is yet to be determined as the two colours don't match (at least to me!)

Who's Spinning Tonight is my favourite from the collection, though I'm a sucker for purples and this royal purple with shimmer is lovely! Sephora calls it an opaque metallic true grape and doesn't it look lovely? *drool*

So what do you think? I like the way they chose the colours for the collection and the theme even if the colours themselves aren't super unique. What do you think? If you want to take a look or order the polishes on the Sephora website ($9 USD, $12 CND) click on the bottle of The Way Tutu His Heart below to take you to the page. Or there is the mini set of four at the top for $18 USD. :D

P.S. I just heard that  The Polish A Holic has swatches of the mini set of this collection up as well as the Sephora Glee collection if you're interested :D

NOTD: Color Club Snakeskin

Please ignore the messed up thumb, look at the beauty of the polish in the bottle instead :P

It's been awhile since I've shown a nail polish post so I thought I'd upload my current favourite! This little is by Color Club (which means they don't cost much and they are vegan as well!) and called Snakeskin (Number 901). And honestly this colour is stunning! Metallic silvered green with gold and silver micro-shimmer. To me it honestly has the feel of some sort of reptile in a swamp, which is great as I'm taking a Herpetology class this semester! (Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians :D) I think this color is really unique, I love the fact that it has some variation to it because of the gold and silver shimmer so it looks really reptilian! 

This polish not only looks really cool but the formula is awesome! Just as good as Revvvolution (Shown in this post!) you really can pull off only one coat with both of these two Color Club polishes I've tried. Though I did two coats in the photos, Snakeskin applies smoothly and without brushstrokes. (Quite a few of my nails are messed up in this manicure, but it's not due to the polish, rather the Top Coat I used. I'm on the last dregs of my favourite China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat and it has gone thick. In combination with not enough on my brush most times I destroyed most of the nails. *pout*)

Close-up to see the awesome shimmer!

Overall Rating: 10/10 This polish is amazing in my opinion. Great formula, Unique colour, Vegan and Cruelty-free brand and costs under $5 a bottle. Fantastic!

Would I buy this again? YES! Yes, yes yes! There is honestly nothing I dislike about this polish!

New Years Manicure!

Not the greatest picture in the world with crappy cuticles and a large area where a hangnail caught, but the colour is nice yes? The last couple of days have been super hectic for me, we had family visit with my cousins two young children followed by catching my father's cold. Bleh for sore throats!
This colour is pretty darn awesome though for New Years don't you think? I used two of the Wet n' Wild Vixen Mitten holiday polishes The gold with silver holographic bars Donner and the small dainty mini silver holographic glitter Dasher! Plus it's held up so well, show is the morning of day three and no tip wear (to my eyes at least!) and no chips! Pretty good for drugstore polish doncha think?

Hope everyone's New Years rocked! Hopefully the new year will bring wonderful things to all of us!

Hello Kitty Beauty at Sephora

Don't know if any of you have heard, but Hello Kitty Beauty is set to launch at Sephora in January 2011! Though it will be a cutesy brand like Tokidoki, I'm interested to see how this plays out. But for people interested here are some images of the upcoming line!

Image from Teen Vouge Editor Eva Chen Twitter

Image from Teen Vouge Editor Eva Chen Twitter

Image from Teen Vouge Editor Eva Chen Twitter

Image from Teen Vouge Editor Eva Chen Twitter

Image from Here (Don't know what to call the site!)

Image from Here (Don't know what to call the site!)

Image from Here (Don't know what to call the site!)

Image from Here (Don't know what to call the site!)

Neat yes? I personally love the polish bottles.

(No info yet about the animal testing status for this company)

Wet n' Wild Vixen Mittens Holiday Polishes

Top Row Left to Right: Dancer, Dasher, Blitzen, Cupid
Bottom Row Left to Right: Prancer, Rudolph, Donner, Comet
Thanks to naildiva87 for the image!

Have you seen the awesome Wet n' Wild Vixen Mittens Holiday Mini Polish collection out? This Limited Edition collection is beyond adorable, as all the polishes are named after reindeer! There is a polish for everyone of them except for Vixen, who instead has the entire polish collection named after her :P. 

Dasher- Fine silver almost holographic glitter, not opaque

Dancer- Large silver almost holographic glitter, not opaque

Prancer- Large hexagonal and fine red glitter, not opaque

Vixen- Name of the collection (honestly I just put her in here because this keeps the reindeer in order :D)

Comet- Silver and gold fine glitter with large circle silver/almost holographic glitter- not opaque

Cupid- Very light nude/cream colour with silver bar glitter- not opaque

Donner- Gold with orange undertone with silver bar and fine silver glitter- opaque

Blitzen- Pink Champagne with with small red glitter and super fine silver glitter- opaque

Rudolph - Candy Apple red with shimmer- opaque

Left to Right: Rudolph, Prancer, Donner, Comet, (Dancer is missing)
Image thanks to Jaybirdiscrafty!

Far left to right: Donner, Comet, Cupid, Blitzen, Dasher
Image thanks to Jaybirdiscrafty!

Personally I see Prancer becoming a crowd favourite right away as it's very similar to Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Slippers, and it just would make a wonderful manicure layered over a green over white don't you think? Very christmas tree ornament! I also quite like how unique Blitzen is, lovely and subtle but still very in theme. I can see this on an angel's nails actually! (I can see Dashers as an angel manicure too! Overactive imagination, right here, hehe.)

Thanks to naildiva87 for the image!

Click on any of the images to see them bigger! If you see these in store I think they're worth picking up, even though they are mini bottles. I just think the entirety of this collection is adorable! I only wish they had a vixen polish, maybe a green!

What do you think? Hoping some reindeer will drop these off at your local drugstore, or should they fly on by?

Sephora OPI Holiday Polish Combined Blog Swatches!

Looks Like Rain Dear
(Click to see it large, it has holo glitter in it!)
Image From Finchburg on MUA

As I'm sure you all know, Sephora has recently released their Sephora OPI Holiday polishes. Hard to find swatches of, I hunted down over the internet swatch pictures of all of them for you! Please note NONE of these photos are mine, I've borrowed them from the sources listed. Some of the sources have more or alternate pictures of the swatches, I just chose my favourite for each polish so if you're interested click the links below the pictures to go to their blogs or pages. Thanks so much to everyone, enjoy!
P.S. To see the original post with bottle pictures and information Click HERE.

Flurry Up
Image From Make Up Shake Down Blog

Sparkle Me Silver
Image From The Nailphile Blog

What's Your Point-setta?
Image From Ali's Nail News Blog

Merry Me
Image from Ali's Nail News Blog

Only Gold For Me
Image From Vampy Varnish Blog

NARS Vintage Polish

From the Nars site

Nars has brought back for a limited time there most popular shades from the past. For $16 USD each, and available now these would make good stocking stuffers. (Info from Temptalia)



Midnight Express is a dark blue almost black jelly. It's very sheer so you're going to need patience to apply it. However, I do really like the feel of it.



Zulu is a deep dark forest green. Personally my favourite from the release, this polish has been hyped up a lot since it's original release about 15 years ago. This too is a jelly finish, and is also quite sheer. Personally I think this colour would look great around the holiday season as it reminds me of pine forests.



Mash is a metallic khaki olive army green. I've heard this one too requires patience to perfect, as it has issues with brushstrokes and needs three coats.



Full Metal Jacket is another metallic only this time a silver with a slight blue undertone. Also three coats, and also prone to brushstrokes.



King Kong is the last of the bunch (though not the least!). It's an orange intense copper metallic, and from what I've heard applies the best of the five. With only two coats needed and little evidence of brushstrokes this one is a unique winner.

What do you think? Buying some NARS for this holiday season?