Kat Von D for Sephora looks disappointing, but I love my Clarisonic, BeautyBlender and Nail Polish

I watched the video about Kat Von D's new Sephora-exclusive makeup line. Man. I was starting to get excited about it when I heard it was in the works, but now that I've seen it I'm disappointed.

The colors shown in the video look very blah, the packaging is probably the only thing Kat designed (well, I guess she chose the names too...), it just looks cheap and pretty much exactly like Sephora's house brand stuff, which is terrible.

What's worse, is Kat's makeup in the video was awful. She usually looks amazing, but for some reason she had bleeding lipcolor, unblended eyeshadow, striped blush, what appeared to be nothing but black smeared around her eyes, and no mascara!!!

You just can't take MAC away from a girl. It's a crime.

Have I mentioned how much I love my Clarisonic? Cause I love my Clarisonic. A lot. Maybe too much.

I also tried out my Beautyblender yesterday and I'll just say it's the king of all makeup applicators. It's nothing like any sponge or foundation brush I've ever tried and it really gives the most absolutely flawless finish ever. If you wear foundation, you need one of these. Seriously. This thing is insane.

What else... I have worn a few of my China Glaze Eco polishes and, well, blah. Boring. I hate the formula. It's gooey. Stupid Big 3 Free polishes. Give me back my chemicals!!!!!

I'm more impressed with the OPI India ones than I thought I would be. I wore Royal Rajah Ruby and it's a fantastic color, somewhat similar to Midnight in Moscow. I like those dark-but-not-black shimmery colors. I broke down and bought a few more India polishes- Elephantastic Pink, I'm India Mood for Love, Curry Up Don't Be Late, Charmed by a Snake and and Moon over Mumbai. I have a problem.

Today I'm wearing CND Toxic Perfection because I've been craving all things coral. Coral blush, coral eyeshadow, coral lips, coral nails... Not all at the same time, but still. Coral. I really like this color, but I think it needs something. I'm probably going to add some Gold Lang Syne over it in a little while.

This is the first Creative / CND that actually dried in under 24 hours. I think it was completely dry in 8!!! Wow, it's a new record!

OPI India Collection, China Glaze Eco Collection and Everyday Minerals.

I got my OPI India and China Glaze Eco polishes today.

They're pretty cool, but I haven't worn any of them yet. Unplugged and Recycle look really awesome, though. I don't want to paint my nails right now. I'm still enjoying yesterday's manicure of Sally Hansen Glossy with OPI Man of La Mancha on top. I really love the old formula OPIs, I wish they'd go back. And I'm really getting sick of the ProWide brush that I used to love so much.

I also got one of those Beauty Blender things.... I haven't tried that, either. I used mineral makeup today.

I'm going to sound like a total heretic here, huge Bare Escentuals fan that I am, but I tried the Everyday Minerals Try Me kit and I think I'm in love.

They offer different formulas, which I like. I am wearing the Intensive one, which offers way more coverage than my beloved Bare Minerals, using less product.

The color match is nearly spot on. I usually wear Light or Fairly Light in Bare Minerals, but for some reason the last two refills I've purchased have been much darker and pinker. I even have an old jar to compare, and they're definitely different. I am wearing the lightest shade in Everyday Minerals (on the cool spectrum) and it's perfect. Not pink, not orange, not white.

I'll have to keep using it to see if it does anything weird to my skin, but so far, so good!

Orly Rock Candy: Miracle Worker

Yesterday's manicure was OPI's Make Love. I don't know what inspired me to pick that color. It's an opaque milky pink. It really stands out on your nails. I just wasn't feeling it. At times I loved it, other times I wondered what I was thinking.

This morning I debated removing it, but since it was still perfectly pristine, I thought maybe I'd modify it instead. I originally planned to layer OPI Pink Ulta-Matum over it, but then another polish caught my eye. Orly Rock Candy. I'm glad I went with the Rock Candy. It's perfect.

Rock Candy is a sheer somewhat shimmery iridescent sort of color, with mostly blue-green overtones, but layered over the top of Make Love, it looks like mother of pearl. I was trying to figure out what the color reminded me of, and that's it- the inside of seashells. Really pretty and interesting at the same time.

I broke down and ordered the three OPI India polishes I had my eye on, and decided to throw in the China Glaze Eco collection in with them... to keep them company. I'm actually more excited about the Eco ones than the India ones. Finally, a grey nail polish that's not gunmetal or silver.

I also can't wait for the China Glaze Ink collection... I love bright colors, and I can't wait to be wearing that purple one.

I'm still in a makeup rut. It's painful.

I got my MAC Fafi stuff, and I'm really disappointed that the special Fafi packaging is just stickers/plastic overwrap. How lame. I don't get this Fafi stuff. Meh, whatever. When Heatherette comes out I'll be able to rave about that.

Makeup rut, awesome Clarisonic and glitter goth nails on Valentine's Day.

Arrrrgh. I'm in a makeup rut. A bad one. I can't come up with any looks, I can't seem to make anything look good.... I've lost my creativity. Like writer's block but with makeup.

It's depressing. I need something to snap me out of it.

I love my Clarisonic. I look forward to washing my face every day. It's so cool. Totally worth it.

My Valentine's day makeup and nails were pretty boring. Eyes were Urban Decay Sellout and MAC Mothbrown, with a slight cat eye in black liner. Booooring.

Nails were (and still are) a very Junior High-ish combination of China Glaze Ruby Pumps and Lubu Heels, french manicure style, with star rhinestones on the ring fingers and opposite color on the middle fingers. It actually looks really cool, but it makes me feel like I'm 13 again.

At least I'm really looking forward to the MAC for Heatherette. So excited. I want everything.

Reviews: Clarisonic, Ardell Lash and Brow Growth Accelerator and Bremenn Labs Lumedia.

Couple of reviews I want to share...

First on the list, the Clarisonic Skincare Brush. I had been seeing it advertised here and there, and for no reason at all I had to have it. Seriously. I didn't even know what it was, but I knew I wanted it. It's absurdly expensive, but I had a gift card (score!) so I went for it.

OH MAN. This thing is cool. Basically what it is is a giant Sonicare toothbrush for your face. I used it for the first time tonight and I already love it. It feels amazing. It has a program built in and it beeps every few seconds to tell you what to do. I think it's 10 seconds on each cheek, 20 seconds on your forehead and 10 for chin and nose? Something like that. I just kind of ignored the beeps and did my own thing.

My skin got cleaner than I thought possible. I have been using toner lately (DDF 10% Glycolic), and usually there's a little bit of makeup residue on the cotton ball when I'm done, but this time there was NOTHING! My face feels soft and smooth and not dry and it's positively glowing. I can't wait to use it again.

Best impulse buy ever.

Next up, Ardell Lash and Brow Growth Accelerator. I did something very, very bad. I used waterproof mascara for about a month and my lashes paid the price. I now have a bunch of broken lashes and two bald spots. I had to do something about it, and I saw this on sale at Ulta and figured, what the heck, it's like $3, I'll try it. I've been using it for a week and I'm actually seeing results. The bald spots haven't grown back, but my lashes definitely look longer and thicker. I don't know if it's because they're actually growing, but it's probably the result of them actually being conditioned. They are hair, after all. I'm going to keep using it until it's gone and then see what kind of results I have. So far, so good.


Last on the list, Bremenn Labs Lumedia Facial Brightener. I got a nice size deluxe sample of this from Sephora and used it regularly until it ran out. It worked immediately. I love products that give results. It's a hydroquinone-free spot-fader and skin brightener. If you can't already tell, I'm totally into the skin-brightening products. I really do love my hydroquinone, but one, it smells like rotting assholes, and two, I don't know if it's entirely safe. So.... I needed an alternative. Lumedia is a really light texture, almost like a serum. It doesn't smell gross at all (smells pretty nice, actually) and it gives me that brightness that I crave. It didn't fade spots as fast or as well as a hydroquinone product, but it works right away, unlike hydroquinone.

There's my reviews for the day.

I am trying to be excited about the OPI India collection, but I just can't. It's so freaking boring. I might get Yoga-ta Get This Blue or Royal Rajah Ruby, but otherwise, BLAH. Come on, OPI, how many bland pink and red cremes do we need?

Disappointed with Chanel, Cargo, MAC and broken nails.

That whole Azur over Blue Satin thing.... Not really digging it. I mean, yeah, it's blue and sparkly... It's just not 'wow'. Blue Satin really just looks black unless you're in direct sunlight and Azur loses its coolness layer over it.

I broke my left ring finger nail halway down the nail bed today. I was trying to pry open the frozen shut back door so I could put my chicken soup in the snow. Yep.

I tried that Cargo Blu-Ray High Definition mattifer. It actually seems like your average silicone-based primer with a really dark tint. It's a very dark apricot, almost brown. Like bronzer. It didn't seem to mattify. It didn't seem to do anything, actually, besides clog my pores.

One last comment: I really hate my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (Light Medium.) It's dry and chunky and chalky and doesn't do anything for me. I'm so disappointed.

Cargo Blu Ray High Definiton Makeup Collection Review

I'm trying out this new Cargo Blu-Ray High Definition BS makeup whatever stuff.... I'm not sure why I bought it, but it seemed like a really great idea at the time. Drunken Sephora ordering, FTW!

Here are my first impressions:

The powder seems like any normal pressed powder, but the color is way too dark. It only comes in one shade and I feel like I'm suffering serious floating head syndrome. The finish seems nice enough, but I can't be absolutely sure, as I'm wearing it over MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (which I'm pretty sure I don't like.)

The blush/highlighter is pretty nice. Actually, really nice. It's a neutral pink shade with what appears to be a bit of shimmer. The texture is absurdly soft, so be careful. I tapped my brush onto it and sent a giant cloud of blush dust everywhere. That's how soft it is.

The mascara is freaky weird, but effective. The applicator is basically a paddle with a really thin comb on one end. It absolutely will not clump and gives decent length, but I couldn't build much volume with it. I need volume. It's also a little messy to apply because you have to press so hard to deposit mascara from the weird comb onto your lashes, and you get mascara flecks on your eyelid as a result.

The glosses seems nice so far. I used the one in the lower left hand corner. Shade is nice, nothing special. The formula is nice and smooth, not the least bit sticky. It has a slight mint flavor and cooling sensation, but nothing dramatic. It's your average gloss, I guess.

I didn't try the mattifier because I don't need one and it would probably make my skin look dry. Can't report on that. Maybe next time.

Now I'm off to remove my awesome Amp'd Up manicure to try Chanel Azur over Blue Satin. I hope it turns out cool.