I haven't written in a while so I have a lot to talk about!

I have been kind of busy...

Some topics I'll address at some point in time: MAC Danse collection, companies with shitty customer service, how much I can't stand Linda Wells, niche fragrances, bad advice, bad makeup, B&BW semi-annual sale, Hanae Mori, interesting finds at TJ Maxx, makeup nostalgia...

Actually, maybe I'll address Danse right now.

I was originally planning on getting the After Hours holiday pick that I have been obsessing about. The day I went to buy it, it sold out. I called customer service and they said it would be back in stock on the 26th- also when Danse was supposed to be released.

Apparently people in Canada take off Boxing Day instead of putting the new collection on the website, just like they did with Lingerie.

Anyway, Danse is finally online two days later and I go a little overboard. I didn't get my After Hours (still thinking about it, though) but I did get Glissade, Lightscapade, Pastorale, Corps de Ballet, Pas a deux, Classical, Curtsy, and En Pointe. The only shadows I wanted were Rondelle and Jete, but they are too similar to other things I have. I'm kind of kicking myself for buying Curtsy and Classical now. They're ugly and I'm sure they will look like crap on me. Curtsy isn't so bad, but classical is this nasty color of... watered down salmon. It's like.. a peach milkshake? It's ugly and it will look like death on me. I haven't even tried it on yet.

So, Danse. Awesome lipglasses, I must say. I am impressed. I can't resist Mineralize Skinfinishes, and Lightscapade is just awesome. Boring and ugly eyeshadows, though. Seriously... French Grey? It's not grey, it's brownish taupe. And ugly. We don't need more taupe eyeshadows, MAC.

I really love the new skincare packaging! I am happy to see that Microfine Refinisher is still alive and kicking! The new pots for the Tinted Lip Conditioners are so much nicer than the old ones, but I still prefer the sticks.

I also need a new bottle of MV3. I can't believe it. I am actually going to finish a bottle of perfume. I have never done that, or even come close. MV3 is just THAT GOOD. I could wear it every day and not get sick of it (but I won't, because that's boring).

Unfortunately, Emeraldaire and Tarnished Love are nasty. I can't wear them. They are gross. At least they are kinda cool to look at, and match with the rest of my MAC fragrances.

I heard that they are going to release a new fragrance later this year. Charged Waters, or something like that. I hope it's better than Turquatic.

I have been noticing an abundance of perfume commercials on TV lately. Weird!



I've seen Armani Code, Aqua di Gio, Miss Dior Cherie, Euphoria and Bulgari Blu! So weird!



Is this going to go back to the 90s Obsession days?



Another observation: MAC changed the name of Refined Beyond
Bronze to Refined Deeper Bronze. I don't see how that's any
different. Meh.

Oops. I lied. I got distracted and forgot to post more porn!



Well, here's some more porn.






The fragrance everyone is curious about.






My Too Faced Quickie Chronicles.




Some of my Limited Edition MAC eyeshadows that I haven't put in
palettes. I'm too scared to try to depot these. I'm sure as
hell not depotting my Lure/Belle Azure stuff!






Super cute minis!







Tarte A-List Beauty Insider Exclusive pallete, flash and no flash. Looks very loved.






My stash of extra Villainess soaps...




And extra Isle of Eden scrubs! Those are stacked three deep, by the way. Obsessed much?



More later!

Okay, here it is... porn! Just like I promised.



Most of the pictures are a little blurry. My battery was dying so the focus was a little weak.







MAC Sheer Mystery Powder.

Tarte Rock Royalty! Looking quite loved.

Givenchy Lash Pearls and my skanky chipped nails.

The
shelf where I keep some of the perfumes I use most often. Yes,
you do see Britney Spears Fantasy and Paris Hilton. Some skanks
just smell good.

My Tour de Pink traincase, where I store some of my MAC lip products. Just the ones I use frequently.

I just thought this was a cool picture. Juicy Couture, Midnight Charm, Miss Dior Cherie.

Come on... that is a cool picture. All pretty and sparkly looking on my dresser.

I took exactly one hundred pictures, so I still have a couple more to post. More porn tomorrow!

I think last year I did one of those winter survival lists. I am
thinking about doing one this year, but all of the items would probably
be the same.


I feel like making a list of things I like right now. I have this weird urge to make lists all of a sudden.

So, without further ado, a list.


Things I Love Right Now

1. Sephora Indulgences Purifying Hand Wash in Vanilla Frosting: I
   originally ordered this to put myself into free shipping, fully
   expecting a crappy, generic hand soap like the Method I've been
   buying. What I got actually shocked me. A very thick,
   creamy, highly scented, lightly-lathering hand soap that does not dry
   out my hands and leaves behind an amazing scent. The Vanilla
   Frosting scent is better than I expected. This is the best hand
   soap ever, and I'll probably pick it up in all the other scents.
   It's a shame they discontinued Banana Foster and Chocolate Raspberry,
   cause those would kick ass.


2. Sephora Indulgences Whipped Body Delights: I
   have this in a bunch of scents. My favorite at the moment is
   Vanilla Frosting (which is shimmery!) closely followed by Marshmallow
   Fluff and Coconut Nectar. They're thick and creamy without being
   greasy, and they're excellent at locking in moisture. The scents
   are great. Again, would be awesome in Banana Foster and Chocolate
   Raspberry. Hear me, Sephora? Quit discontinuing the good
   stuff!!
   
   


3. Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Extreme: Quite
   possibly my favorite fragrance of all time. It's the perfect
   lasting vanilla. It's not sticky, cloying, fake or
   overpowering. It's like vanilla beans and sugar, and it lasts all
   day. I could wear this every day. It layers well with
   pretty much everything. On initial application it smells a little
   weird, kind of like benzoin, but after about 15 minutes it settles
   quite nicely and remains the same for hours.


4. Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar:
   Noticing a trend here? I'm a vanilla fiend. I just can't
   help myself. The thing I love about Bath and Body Works is that
   you can layer to your heart's content because they make every product
   you can think of in every scent. I have shampoo, conditioner,
   body wash, body butter, body cream, shimmer lotion, shimmer spray...
   You name it, I have it in this scent. It's not so strong that you
   overtake the room with your fragrance, and it layers well with other
   things. I used to hate it, but now I love it.
   
   


5. L'Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara: Screw
   Diorshow, this stuff OWNS! It is by far the best mascara I have
   ever used. It has a bit of a learning curve, but the end result
   is so worth it. I like my lashes to stand out, and this gives the
   effect of false lashes. Length, volume, everything. I have
   been through 8 or more tubes of this stuff and I don't plan on buying
   any other mascara ever again. Only disclaimers: You need a good
   metal lash comb, and try not to get your lashes wet because this stuff
   runs.


6. NARS Albatross: It's
   described as a "blush/highlighter." It's a subtle white-gold
   shimmer (more of a glow than a shimmer) and it's absolutely
   perfect. I can use it everywhere and it's the perfect amount of
   glow without being obvious, shimmery, glittery or shiny. I can
   put tons of it on and it still looks natural.
   
   


7. MAC Bronzer in Refined Beyond Bronze and Golden: I
   am very pale, so Refined Beyond Bronze seems like a weird choice.
   I think being pale is actually what makes this shade so great. I
   contour or slightly bronze with Golden when I want an extremely subtle
   effect. Golden is the perfect shade. But when I want to add
   a little drama or more definition, Refined Beyond Bronze is
   perfect. I just very lightly tap my bronzer brush into it, and
   buff it onto my cheekbones. Just that tiny touch of bronzer makes
   my skin look amazing and it's seamless. You can't even tell it's
   on, but you can. Makes sense, right?


8. Smashbox Cream Eyeliner in Caviar: I
   use an extremely short-bristled stiff angled brush to apply this, and
   it provides the most perfect, tightest line ever. It is only
   smudgeable (real word?) for about 15 seconds, and once it dries it's
   bulletproof. It's such a rich, dark black but it doesn't look
   hookerish.


9. Isle of Eden Sugar Scrubs: Yes,
   they're great for the body, but I've been a bad girl, using them on my
   face. They're thick, not the least bit oily, and they're very
   rough. It's maybe a little too rough for the face, and the
   fragrance oil burns like hell, but they make my skin absolutely
   perfect. I use one every day, sometimes twice, and my skin is
   incredibly clear, smooth and perfect. They rinse completely clean
   and they smell amazing, too.
   
   


10. Lip Fusion Lip Fusion XL: It's
    almost absurdly expensive, but it works. It plumps and smoothes
    and it DOESN'T BURN. Don't get me wrong, I love those burny ones
    (Lip Venom, Lip Injection...) but I hate having red lips. This is
    slightly glossy, plumps gently but effectively and keeps my lips a nice
    pale shade. Only downsides are the packaging which gets scratched
    easily, and the weird minty flavor. I don't want my lipgloss to
    taste like toothpaste.

Ten seems like a nice, even number. I think I can stop
there. I still feel like making lists. Maybe I'll make
another list... I feel like organizing things.



I've noticed that my blog is lacking in something very important.
Porn! Maybe I'll get out the camera and take some pictures (of
makeup, don't worry.) to go along with my babbling. Everyone
loves porn.

Apparently 90% of the people visting my blog are looking for Givenchy Lash Pearls.

Ah, Google.

Anyway, since so many people seem to be interested, I suppose I could provide a little review.

Givenchy Lash Pearls. So awesome.

They are a very thick crystal clear liquid, about the viscosity of corn syrup or molasses, and they come in a nail polish style bottle with a brush applicator.

You're supposed to apply them by holding the brush vertically and "dropping" a drop of the liquid onto the tips of your lashes. I find that the bigger the drop, the better. It looks smaller once it rounds itself into a little pearl, so don't be afraid to apply too much.

They stay sticky for a pretty long time, and don't ever seem to fully dry. It's a little bit like glue.

The end result is really gorgeous. Like little crystal drops of dew on the ends of your lashes. You can go from subtle to dramatic depending on how big you make the pearls, but they catch the light and draw attention to your eyes without being over the top.

So, there's my half-assed review of lash pearls for all you Googlers out there.

Also, someone was looking for the original price of MAC Mineralize Skinfinish. $22.

Hmm... what else have people been looking for...

Benefit. I don't have much to say about Benefit. I worked for them for a day. I hate their sales tactics and dishonesty. I like a few products, but they're gimmicky and the quality isn't anything wonderful.

Tarte blush. The only Tarte blush I have is the pink one in the Rock Royalty palette (love) and a mini cheekstain in Tickled. I like them both, but I never use the cheekstain.

Oh, and Vera Wang Princess. It smells good. Buy it.

I think I've covered all my bases for now!

Wow, how lame! In all my blathering about Juicy Couture and such, I forgot to yap about MAC Couture!!

I was very skeptical at first, as it's a little more expensive than MAC usually is, but I couldn't resist HEAVY GUNMETAL PACKAGING. WITH STUDS.

I splurged on the Sheer Mystery Powder, lipstick in Couture, lipglass in Prestigious and Richmetal highlighter in Arc Silver.

I'm not huge on the richmetal highlighter, but the compact is SO HOT. Everything else I love. LOVE. CAPITAL LETTERS!

Yes, I am shallow and a sucker for packaging. This is the coolest packaging MAC has had so far. I'm going to get the rest of the Couture lipglasses and maybe the richmetal highlighter in another color. Possible another lipstick. And a backup sheer mystery powder. One for my purse and one for home.

The packaging is heavy. It's so cool. So very, very cool.

I just bought Juicy Couture. I can't wait to have it in my well-manicured little hands. The bottle is absolutely beautiful. The notes sound like they'll sit well with me- they had me at creme brulee.

I try not to buy perfumes just for the bottle, but sometimes I can't resist. Hence, Dior Midnight Charm that really isn't me at all but looks pretty in my cabinet.

I can't decide whether or not I like Betsey Johnson's bottle design. I'm torn between incredibly tacky or cute and sparkly. Hmm. If it wasn't made of plastic it might be less tacky, but something about it is cute.

I'm not entirely about packaging. Some fragrances I love have ugly packaging. Comptoir, Philosophy, MAC, plain unappealing bottles.

I bought MAC Emeraldaire and Tarnished Love and I have no idea why. Total impulse. Luckily they don't smell awful, but they're not really me. MAC MV3 will always be my true love. I've had a difficult time finding something quite as perfect.

Some things I used to think were tacky I'm actually starting to love.

I've had a love/hate relationship with Bath and Body works. I couldn't think of something cheaper and tackier than all the Cucumber Melon-Country Apple-Sun-Ripened Raspberry scented masses of skanky little teens and such...

There were a few things I really liked from them way back then... Red Currant and Thyme Tea (still like it), Tangerine Spice (remember that one?), and oh, how I loved the Tutti Dolci line.

I remember when I went on the choir tour, Chrissy and I went into Bath and Body works and we discovered this new scent- Warm Vanilla Sugar. I sniffed it in the bottle and immediately bought some lotion. It was heaven for about 29 seconds, and then it went overpoweringly strong and gave me a massive headache. Sad.

Flash forward to now. I'm walking past Kristin's office and I smell something really good. Turns out it's B&BW Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion, and it smells nothing like I remember. It smells sweet, smooth and creamy, very surprising.

I actually am impressed. I bought a bunch of Warm Vanilla Sugar stuff- holiday shimmer lotion in the very pretty sparkly champagne gold tube, beautiful bottle of holiday shimmer mist, body butter... It layers well with my favorite fragrances and it's no longer the overpowering perfumy stench I remember.

The new Exotic Coconut is also very nice. Mourning the loss of Tutti Dolci, I discovered the new Temptations line and those are also shockingly not gross. Pecan Passion is really unique and nice. Pumpkin Pie Paradise smells nothing like pumpkin pie but it's good. Crazy Caramel Corn has a stupid-ass name but it really does smell like caramel corn. So what if I want to smell like food. It smells better than flowers. Tastes better, too.