A Beautiful Life S'Stains Lip Shine and Natural Nail Lacquer: Reviews and Swatches

I'm always interested in trying new brands, and while perusing Urban Outfitter's beauty section, A Beautiful Life piqued my interest.  A Beautiful Life products are all natural and petrochemical-free.  Being the nail and lip junkie that I am, I selected one of the S'Stains Lip Shines and two of the Natural Nail Lacquers to try out.

S'Stains Long-Lasting Satin Lip Shines (from ABL):  S'stains are 100% natural, paraben-and petrochemical-FREE satin-y lip glosses. Each color is packed with natural lip conditioners, like shea butter, vitamin E and the near-miraculous ARGAN OIL! It also packs a pleasantly plumping trio of essential oils (cassia, peppermint, and ginger) - JUST ENOUGH to smooth fine lines and give you the perfect pout without stinging (ouchies!).

I selected 80's Pink, which is a sheer, bright bubblegum pink with white and violet shimmers.  The Lip Shine comes in a squeeze tube with a slant-tip applicator.  Satin Lip Shine is quite an accurate descriptor.  It's not a gloss, but there's more shine than a balm...the finish is satin.  It gives the lips a nice, natural sheen.  S'Stains are not sticky or tacky.  The texture is reminscent of Burt's Bees Lip Shines, if you've ever tried those.


The plumping action, well, honestly it's hard to tell on me.  I will say, no stinging, and just an ever-so-slight slight tingling, that didn't bother me at all.  Usually, just the tingling sensation that is in most plumpers is enough to keep me away, but I'm totally fine with this.  The scent is really pleasing and not overwhelming.  I first thought, "Mmm, cinnamon!"  But, after reading the description, I totally pick up the peppermint and ginger.


Wearability, well, I wouldn't necessarily say it's long-wearing.  The sheen fades within an hour or so, and the color lasted about three hours (and yes, I ate and drank).  Afterward, my lips did feel nice and soft, and with the shea butter, vitamin E, and Argan Oil, I can only imagine they'll feel even better with regular use of this lip shine.


Overall, I really like the Lip Shine, and I plan on getting a couple more.  They're available through A Beautiful Life and are $14 each for 10mL (oddly enough, I can't find them on UO's website anymore).  I give the S'Stains Lip Shine 4 paws up!

Keep reading for my review and swatches of the Natural Nail Lacquer.

Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara: Review

I'm always on the lookout for the best mascara.  I want it all - curl, length, volume, with no smudging or flaking.  Who doesn't?!  I'm not opposed to playing guinea pig and buying various mascaras to try out, but if I can test for free, why not?


Recently, one of Sephora's weekly deals was an offer for a free sample of the new Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara.  And, that offer *luckily* coincided with an order I *needed* to make...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!  Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum has an hourglass-shaped brush that gives volume, length, lift and separation.  Plus the formula has an "intense concentration of ProVitamin B5" for a "reflective, jet-black sheen for dramatic impact".

Sounds promising.  Does it deliver?  Keep reading to find out!

TKB Trading Pigments & Micas: Review and Swatches, Part 2

Annnnnd here are the rest of the fantastic swatches!

More awesomeness after the jump!

TKB Trading Pigments & Micas: Review and Swatches, Part 1

Have you discovered TKB Trading yet?  If not, you totally have to check them out for budget-friendly beauty.  They have a bevy of pigments, micas and glitters with fantastic pigmentation and texture, and some of which are exact dupes for MAC Pigments.  Teaspoon-sized "samples", which are pretty much all you need as that is a lot of product, are $1.50, and sizes go up from there.  Shipping is really reasonable and they ship internationally!


I use these for everything from eye shadows to using in frankening nail polishes (custom-making my own nail polishes).  These are so inexpensive that I don't worry if something turns out bad, like I might if I used my expensive MAC Pigments.  I definitely wouldn't call these pigments and micas "cheap" since that speaks more to quality.  TKB pigments and micas are really great quality.  Some I'd say are even better than MAC!

See plenty of swatches and comparisons after the jump.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams: Review & Swatches

Make Up For Ever launched a new product, Aqua Cream, a couple months back.  Since I don't live in NYC I had to wait for them to be released at Sephora, which they finally were to Beauty Insiders, just a couple of weeks ago.  After reading some of the initial review from the lucky NYC ladies who were able to snap them up immediately, of course I wanted to try them!  Creamy, pigmented, superior staying power.  A shadow lover's dream!

Since I have quite a few cream shadows already, I picked colors that I didn't already have.  I went for #4, a bright, shimmery white, #5, peach with golden shimmer, and #12, a golden, shimmering bronze with the prettiest golden glitters (super subtle, so no worries about being a disco ball).

More after the jump.

Sally Hansen Salon Summer Collection: Review and Swatches

Like so many others, I read about Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and decided to go on a hunt for it.  Luckily I was able to track one down, so I picked it up along with a couple of others from the summer collection.  Most of the colors in the collection weren't too terribly unique, being reminiscent of the stereotypical "tropical" colors:  berry pink, turquoise, yellow, etc.


I chose Pomegranate, Ring My Shell, and Hidden Treasure as being the most unique colors of the bunch.  I also picked up Yellow Kitty, which is part of the regular collection, mostly for it's name, of course!


Swatches and my review after the jump!

Zoya Hot Lips: Swatches and Review

A little while back Zoya did a promotion where you could get three Hot Lips Glossy Lip Balms free (you just had to pay for shipping).  I'm not one to pass up on a deal like that, especially since I'd been lemming a few, anyway.  Being the nude/natural/pale pink lip-lover that I am, I chose Trendy, Fame, and Meow (how could swatchcat not get Meow?!).  I already had Shimmer and Glimmer from when they were released as a set with the corresponding nail polish.




Shimmer is a light shimmering pink.  I did't see this color listed as one of the many choices...or maybe they renamed it Luvie, which appears to be strikingly close, according to the swatch on it's website.  Glimmer is described as a pale shimmering gold.  Trendy is described as a sheer shimmering peachy pink.  Fame is described as a pale nude cream.  Meow is described as a shimmering pink sand.