Zoya: Black and Silver Chevron Nails

Since I'm all about glitter right now, I wanted to share the nail art that I wore to my family's annual Thanksgiving get-together this year.

I used Storm (black with sparkle) and Cosmo (silver glitter) to do this. I wish I could remember what the white polish is...but I lost the bottle shortly after I did the look. I have no idea how that happened! It was just a generic, opaque white from the drugstore. I remember paying less than $3 for it. I didn't use any stencils, just freehanded the design using a technique I learned from @gabbysnailart on Instagram. ^_^

I think this would look really pretty in black and gold to ring in the new year or in red and gold for Christmas, don't you think?

Anyhoo, thanks for reading and have a good night!

Hugs,
Cat

Glittery Holiday Looks

Happy Black Friday, everyone! I was too busy with Thanksgiving to post yesterday, but have been cozily shopping on my laptop all day today, leaving me plenty of time to catch up on my blog absence. 

Anyhoo, glitters are trending for the holiday season (are they ever not?) and I've been busy creating some sparkly looks that are party-perfect!

Champagne Kisses by Violet Voss

Holy Grail by Violet Voss

Violet Voss  makes incredibly intense pigments, but their specialty is unique glitters with massive amounts of sparkle! They also sell a glitter glue primer, perfect for making your glitters stick and last all day, all night. They're in the midst of their Black Friday sale so don't miss out!

Hugs,

Cat

*This post contains commercial samples provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of review.

Shimmery Cut Crease with Sephora Glitz & Glam Bag

Ok, so this is a somewhat weird, convoluted story, but I figured I'd tell it since it's related to the product in today's post. A couple months ago, I ordered Sephora's Glitz & Glam Party Essentials Sampler. 

You can't tell from the photo, but my package came severely damaged. First off, it took about 10 days for me to receive, which I thought was awfully slow in comparison to my usual packages. The box looked like someone had played soccer with it, and my bag was dirty and mangled, with a few of the products being broken. (the Stila Magnificent Metals shadow and the Benefit Watts Up)

Thankfully, Sephora has pretty good customer service so they gave me a full refund and told me to expect a visit from a UPS agent to investigate what may have happened. It's been over a month and no one showed up, so I figured it'd be ok to use the products by now.

Below is a shimmery, cut-crease I did using the Laura Mercier Rose Gold Caviar Stick, Stila Magnificent Metals in Dusty Rose, Benefit's Watts Up in the brow arch, and Lancome's Art Liner to line my upper lash line.

I think this turned out rather nice. Everyone else seemed to think so, also, as I got an unprecedented amount of good feedback on this look on my Instagram. :) Anyhoo, one more day away from the weekend! Happy Thursday, all and have a great evening!

Hugs,
Cat

Ten Three Labs

Hiya! Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween yesterday! Speaking of the spook-tacular, I want to introduce you all to a super-cool, new indie cosmetic collection called Ten Three Labs. (10/03 also happens to be my bday, woo woo!)

Cara, the owner, makes and packages the products herself. I love that about small, independent operations. So much care is put into the creation and presentation. It's also very satisfying knowing that I'm getting a domestically-made product!

First of all, I was thoroughly charmed by the package design. It conjures up imagery of some magical, gothic/victorian apothecary. In addition to cosmetics, included in my package were whimsical little extras, such as candy, flower seeds, and a novelty, fortune-telling fish. (I always wanted one of those) It's the little things and attention to detail which makes me develop an affinity for certain brands.

The shadows are richly pigmented in a variety of deep, earthy colors to brights to pastels. The full-sized jars will probably last me a lifetime, while the generous sample bags will probably last for many, many applications. You're getting so much product for such a great price, this is seriously a steal!

I haven't tried the balms yet, but they look and smell wonderful. I'm sure I won't be disappointed, but I'll update you all on my experience with them once I get a chance to try them.

Here is a look I did with some of the shadows. Products listed below.

I did a soft, romantic look using a combination of pink and grey...one of my all-time, favorite color combos.

Products used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
• Etude House black gel eyeliner
• Eyeko Making Eyes gel pencils in Dove Grey and Powder Pink
• Ten Three Labs shadows in Shelley's Big Eye and Antoinette
• Eyemimo Cosmetics eyelashes in GLM13

I love the way the pale pink looks on my lower lash line. I have small eyes and doing this creates a brightening, eye-opening effect!

Head on over to Ten Three Labs to check out Cara's wonderful, handmade beauty products! I highly recommend this brand.

Happy Saturday, all!

Hugs,

Cat

*This post contains commercial samples provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of review.