For Your Zombie Survival Pack...

I know these are old news, but I just got my hands on one. I was looking for a black cream shadow for going out looks, so I wanted to finally try one of Maybelline's Color Tattoo shadows.

I am not a huge fan of Maybelline, but I still had a hard time finding a good black cream anywhere else. (NYX was out at the moment of their black jumbo pencil) so into my hands this fell.

This is just over $6 for a pretty large pot of glittery black/grey cream shadow. I love the name -- Audacious Asphalt. I apologize for my obnoxious Avengers font. I love it, and if this truly does last 24 hours, then Black Widow could rock it right?

Well...sadly this wasn't the DARK black I wanted, but it is still pretty. It sets fast and has a lot of fun glitter. It truly is an 'Asphalt' color. Wow, read the label Margo... obviously.

I tested this baby out. I needed to know if it was super-hero worthy. It fell just short. It started dissapearing on my lids at the 18 hour mark. Sadness :(

Don't get me wrong, that is amazing wear with no primer, but not the 24 hour 'tattoo claim'. Hmm.

Final Thoughts: Nice color, and this could easily go in your end of the world zombie apocalypse bag. It will be going in mind.

Price: 9/10
Staying Power: 9/10 (only because of the 24 hour claim).
Packaging: 9/10
Color/Wearability: 9/10
Quality/Branding: 9/10

Total: 45/50 = A- = Pleased Panda

What would you have in your zombie bag? Any products that a superhero could easily wear? Inquiring minds want to know!

xo PrettyPanda

Lynderella and Nerd Laquer: My Thoughts

There is so much drama going on in the nail polish industry right now. It is so sad, because it is honestly just NAIL POLISH. I mean, I am a nail junkie -- but this drama is getting crazy.

(If this is your image, contact me and I will credit it. I found it on pinterest)

You may have heard of Lynderella polishes. They were the first  indie frankens to hit the market. And soon they were sold out, hard to get, and pretty soon after that people were paying upwards of $25 on Ebay for these polishes. Crazy.

Recently, Lynderella has been really shady. I came out that she had given her brother some of her polishes to sell online for huge amounts of money. She was argumentative to places that carried her polish, and just unprofessional. She also did not have the same quality in her polishes that she used to. The glitter would curl and bleed.

This is just unacceptable. I never got my hands on a Lynderella, but now I never want one.

image source

Nerd Laquer was an Etsy store with small collections sold on other geeky sites. I had been lemming many of Amanda's polishes for a while. Especially 'Shiny' because I am a Firefly geek, and 'Medal for Chewie' for my love of Star Wars. She had unique mixes at reasonable prices.

But she seems to have disappeared. Her Etsy site is closed. Websites have released statements saying they no longer carry her product. She hasn't answered her email in over a month. We all hope she is okay, but since she was not answering email a month ago but closed her Etsy site 2 weeks ago, something seems sketch. A lot of people have lost money from Etsy orders and it is just sad.

Bottom line: I want you to be informed. I also want you to make sure you check out any indie company (polish or otherwise) before buying. And if you own a indie company, take note!

How do you feel about this drama in the nail world? Thoughts?

xo PrettyPanda

Revlon Rendezvous

I am scared of the color orange. I have recently dipped my toe into the "Pantone Color of the Year Pool" by wearing the color on my nails, but that was as far as I had gone...until now.

Revlon 'Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain' in Rendezvous is a pretty tangerine color. I decided to just take a leap of faith and try it out, because it is the hot summer color and all that jazz.

I was mostly interested in this product because of its resemblance to those cute Clinique chubby sticks that I have been eyeing. This is a cheaper version. It comes in a twist up tube that is sharpened like a fat crayon. Love.

This baby is $7. There are many more colors, and it is a mix between a lipstick and a colored balm. The 'Twilight' font on it is a little gimmicky though.

See swatches after the jump!

NYX Aqua Shimmer Eye Pencil

Hey!

Summer is all about ocean tones. I love wearing them on nails and eyes for a pop of color that doesn't look too 80's or over-done if you stick to something darker and not frosty!

NYX eye pencil in 'Aqua Shimmer' fits the bill! It is a medium toned ocean blue with lots of silver sparkle.

You can see all the pretty glitter in the tip of the pencil. For $5, this is something that can be in your make-up wardrobe throughout the year.

The color is nice and opaque with one pass and the glitter gets caught up in the pigment and sandwiched in there to prevent fall out and it turns a pretty light blue shade. Nifty!

NYX products are always reliable, of good quality, and are cheap enough to try out a fun color like this without breaking the bank.

Final Thoughts: Add some splash to your summer make-up routine with this fun pencil!

Price: 10/10
Staying Power: 9/10
Packaging: 8/10
Color/Wearability: 10/10
Quality/Branding: 10/10

Total: 47/50 = A = Pandamonium!

Have another favorite blue eye pencil? Share!

xo PrettyPanda

Cynthia Rowley for Band-Aid

Designer Band-Aid's? Cool, right?

I think so!

For $5, you get 20 of the coolest bandages I have ever seen. They are mini works of art that you can place over your boo-boos. I am in love.

I opened one of them to show you all. This is a pretty black doily pattern and I am just in love with everything about these dumb little band-aids. How can band-aids make me go so crazy? I don't know.

I will probably hoard these forever and never use them. Look at the cute little CR right there! LOOK AT IT! I am in cute heaven.

What do you think of these? Love 'em or Leave 'em? Do we really need designer band-aids?

xo PrettyPanda

Essie 'First Base'

Base coats are essential to having a perfect looking mani. It is a shame I am just figuring this out. Being a college student on somewhat of a budget (although I buy too often and don't eat instead) I cut corners when it came to base coats. I would use old ones or none at all. So sad.

I perused different brands but decided on Essie's 'First Base' base coat. It is an adhesive base and was about $9.

I really wanted to try a rubber based one. It was between this and Orly's bonder. I have had good experiences with Essie before, so I thought I would give this brand another shot since I have neglected their polish recently.

Overall, I have nothing bad to say about this! It has increased my polish wear time by about 2 days on average and chipping starts much later on in the week, instead of around 3 days -- more like day 5. This helps to prevent yellowing as well and dries in seconds. That was one of my main concerns because I didn't want to wait around while a clear coat dried.

Final Thoughts: Looking for a nice, reliable base coat? Essie sealed the deal for me. A good investment.

Price: 9/10
Staying Power: 10/10
Packaging: 10/10
Color/Wearability: N/A
Quality/Branding: 10/10

Total: 39/40 = A+ = Pandamonium!

Have you tried this? Have any other ones you like? Let me know!

xo PrettyPanda

Julep Maven Intro Box: Thoughts and Review

Hey :)

I just signed up for the Julep Maven program and got my intro box in 'It Girl' for one penny. I've been curious about Julep polishes for a while, since people rave about them. I have to report that I have mixed feelings.

This is what I received in my intro box. For one penny (seriously, that isn't a gimmick. I paid $.01, no shipping and handling with code COLOR12).

Toe seperators, Julep Lily, Julep Sasha, and Julep Daisy.

Let's take a look at Lily first. This is a fushia polish. Here it is two coats of a base coat, with Seche Vite as a topper. You really need a glossy top coat, because even though these are creams, they dry weirdly matte. I dislike that.

This is a very pretty summery color. It retails for $14. All Julep polishes are 3 free and not tested on animals. They barely have any noxious polish scent either.

Keep reading to see my thoughts on the other two!

Shiny! Scents by FalseNostalgia on Etsy

Hey!

I was so excited to receive my package today from FalseNostalgia on Etsy. I've become addicted to Etsy recently, it is such a bad habit. But I love supporting people that make cool things. And this girl makes COOL things.

I was just doing a random Etsy search for Firefly + Fragrance. I figured that nothing would come of it but I was wrong.

If you don't know what Firefly is, it is Joss Whedon's 14 episode masterpiece starring Nathan Fillion. Please please Netflix it.

The package was so well wrapped. Everything was sealed and wrapped well and nothing was broken in transit. She also included this cute little book mark, and a full sized bar of soap! (review to come). Dealing with her Etsy shop was a dream.

She had so many scents to choose from that I had a tough time! I know I will be back for more soon. She has roll ons for $7.95 which is a deal because the bottle is large (7 ml) and it is glass with a really nice label. FalseNostalgia also does not test on animals :)

Here is what 'Aim to Misbehave' is supposed to smell like, as per Shannon's description:

"Aim to Misbehave. - The Captain's infamous browncoat. Aged leather, suede, with touches of tumbleweed, patchouli, amber, and other shiny things".

So basically it is Mal in a bottle. Swoon.

It smells super leathery in the bottle but on my skin it turns to tumbleweed and patchouli almost instantly, with a sharp tangy after-scent. It is very pleasant, and rather muscular but I love it. This is my first adventure into more 'manly' fragrance and I am really loving it!

To me it smells of adventure and a ranch and riding a horse.

Want to see my other lovely scent? Check it out after the jump!

Stay Shine Free this Summer

Hello there!

So, it is officially Summer now, according to the calendar. I used to always use those blotting papers, you know the little blue ones? I stopped for some reason. I think mostly because they did nothing for me.

I decided to give blotting papers a try again. Enter NYX matte blotting papers, 50 sheets for $5. That is a little steep for me. It is just paper right? Wrong. Miracle workers in a little slim case.

I like sticking with NYX because I know they are cruelty free amidst all of this Urban Decay/MAC etc nonsense. And they tell me to be sexy. Okay NYX. With your miracle papers I can be.

Seriously though, these sop up oil and leave you totally matte for hours. And unlike other ones, they do not leave a weird residue or interrupt your make up. These are coming to Hawaii with me.

Final Thoughts: Only get if you are extremely oily, or are obsessive with touching up. Otherwise they will be a waste. If you have to put on extra moisturizer in the summer, then these aren't for you. But if you are an oil slick like me by noon -- run, don't walk.

Price: 6/10
Staying Power: N/A
Packaging: 10/10
Color/Wearability: N/A
Quality/Branding: 10/10

Total: 26/30 = B = Panda is Pleased

Do you use blotting sheets? Tried these? I want to know!

xo PrettyPanda

TokyoMilk Dark

Oh, how I love TokyoMilk.

This was well worth the $7 from Sephora. The packaging itself is perfect. If I had my own cosmetic line, it would be packaged like this. TokyoMilk you forever have my heart.

I am pretty taken with their scents...and when I heard of Salted Caramel, I had to have it. That is my favorite taste/experience/flavor in the world.

This is not fragrance, but rather heavily scented 'Lip Elixer'. It is not completely vegan because it is made with beeswax. Albeit the bee ingredient is the last one on the label.

The TokyoMilk Dark line was created by Margot Elena. She is automatically cool because we share names.

This is what the tin looks like without the protective strip. There are .7 oz of product and it feels just as heavenly on the lips as it smells.

The balm itself is colorless but moisturizing. The smell is distinctly of freshly burnt and salted caramel. It is heady and strong and sweet and seductive. I love it. It tastes good too. I just dislike the unsanitary aspect of the pot.

Final Thoughts: They have other scents to try as well, if this doesn't suit your fancy. It is not a necessity, but a rather pretty vanity item.

Price: 8/10
Staying Power: 8/10
Packaging: 10/10
Color/Wearability: N/A anyone can wear
Quality/Branding: 10/10

Total: 36/40 = A = Pandamonium!

Do you like TokyoMilk? Tried any of their other scents?

xo PrettyPanda

Metametics Polish Has My Heart!

Hi Lovelies!

So this is my first indie polish post. I decided to check out Etsy to find something similar to the infamous "Connect the Dots" polish that is so coveted. I found 'Metametics'. Visit her Etsy shop here.

These are 3 free, hand-mixed polished made "by geeks for geeks". Oh, true love does exist.

These are mini bottles ($4 each) and she has collections ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Avengers. Perfect. I love her little labeling even on the mini bottles.

First up -- Blood & Snow

"Blood & Snow" is inspired by Game of Thrones. It is white large glitter in a clear base with red glitter and bars smattered throughout. It reminds me of Snow White and the Huntsman as well. Gorgeous. This was my replacement for "connect the dots".

To show you guys the color better, it is one coat alone on my left nail. One coat over ORLY 'Grave Mistake' in the middle, and one coat over Sally Hansen 'White On' on the right. It looks good over all three, depending on what you are going for. This would look good over blue for a festive 4th mani, or over black for something goth-chic.

Okay, I am obsessed with this color. Like, I want to bathe in it and come out all glittery and red and white. It is a gorgeous idea that turned out well.

Continue on after the jump for the Sherlock inspired polish!

A Solid Contender for my Permanent Stash: NYX Liquid Liner

Hey everyone!

Photoshop is uploaded and I am back into the groove. Black liquid liner is a staple in my morning routine. If I don't have a small cat-eye going on, I feel naked. I feel like my eyes look funny, or too round, or too big. I am slightly crazy, I know.

Therefore, I need liquid liner in my life. I have gone through TWO tubes in the last month. So, I am always able to try new brands. Surprisingly, I haven't tried NYX's take on the staple yet.

This liner is from the Noir collection NYX released not too long ago (the one with all of the black liners and fancy boudoir-themed mascaras). I decided that for $7, this is a large amount of product and a reliable brand for me.



Thanks NYX, I will :)

 It comes housed in nice black packaging. The presentation is girly and classy.

I was happy to discover that the brush itself is very thin and precise. I do wish that someone would come out with a liquid liner with a slightly shorter tip. A girl can dream.

As you can see, it draws a nice, even straight line with good pigmentation in just one pass. The smile face was a little iffy, see how it got messy at the corner? I didn't like that. But then again, it was part user error and I won't be drawing smiley faces on my eyelids any time soon.

Final Thoughts: Great, quality black liner that dries down to a dark suede finish, which I have never experienced before. It is nearly matte with a little bit of sheen. Gorgeous.

Price: 8/10
Staying Power: 9/10
Packaging: 10/10
Quality/Branding: 10/10
Color/Wearability: 10/10

Total: 47/50 = A = Pandamonium!

Looks like this baby will be making my cat-eye every morning. Tell me which liquid liner you love!

xo PrettyPanda

Grave Mistake

Hey my wonderful PrettyPanda readers!

Sorry I have been MIA. My laptop crashed last week...had to return it to factory settings, and I just got things up and running again. Haven't re-installed Photoshop yet, so the pics today will not be great and they won't be labeled -- but hey, it is something!

Reds are classic. They (in my humble opinion) are year-round. And today I bring you a red perfect for if you are channeling your inner sailor pin-up girl. Or if you are just like me, and think it is totally okay to wear vampy red in June.


"Grave Mistake" is from the new "Dark Shadows" collection ORLY recently put out to coincide with the Burton/Depp flick.

This is a dark, vampy, burgundy cream. It reminds me of a good wine. Or blood. Tomatoe Tamahto.

This is two coats, but I think it needs three. It is uncharacteristically streaky, and if you apply just one coat...it looks like blood. Gross, coagulating blood. Great for Halloween I am sure. But stick to multiple coats for a classic look.

I think this color is also a great staple to have. It goes nicely with pale skin, but would look so lovely on darker skin tones as well. I also think this can transition easily to fall.

 This retails for $8.

I'll spare you that grading, because I recommend it and I am tired and want to sleep. Haha.

Any other classic reds your recommend?

xoxo PrettyPanda

'Paradise Punch' for Maybelline Summer 2012

Hey Pandas!

Back again with another Maybelline summer eye shadow duo! As you know I was really impressed with 'Oriental Spice', but will I be taken with 'Paradise Punch'? Let's see...

This is 'Paradise Punch' which retails about $3.29, just under four bucks. Pretty good deal for two good sized shadows.

I love the punchy bubblegum pink and lime green duo. It is so refreshing looking and what drew me in first. I was a little skeptical, because I know pigmentation on these colors can lack a bit.

And I was right to be wary...this is swatched four times EACH. Not okay. The pink is workable, but the lime is kind of a waste of space at this point.

I have a lot of other indie shadows that perform better in these colors, so I will stick with those. I am sad that 'Paradise Punch' just didn't do it for me, because I was totally digging the tropical vibe!

Final Thoughts:

Price: 10/10
Staying Power: 10/10
Color/Wearability: 4/10
Packaging: 8/10
Quality/Branding: 6/10

Total: 38/50 = C = Totally Un-Thrilled Panda

Any suggestions for a better lime green shadow?

xoxo PrettyPanda

Let the Victorian Disco Swatching Spree Begin

Hello!

If I could make my own line of make up, I would probably name all of my shadows and lippies after Art History type things, like Manet paintings. Or I would name them after Star Wars. What is that you say? There is already someone who does that?

Yes folks, my dream has come true in Victorian Disco Cosmetics.

When I found out about them, I had to place an order instantly. I ordered almost every "Star Wars" themed shade, although the company does not have the rights to the films or anything of that sort.

They arrived like this...

How cute is that? They shipped very fast and I ordered little sample baggies to try everything out. I am so excited to bring you these swatches!

I will be breaking these posts up by color theme so as not to drown you in pretty. :)

The four I will show you today are "Youngling" "Forest Moon" "R2" and "Lightsaber" They are gorgeous greens, blues, and purples. The cool range.

Youngling is a wonderful lilac color. It has all the innocence of a young padawan learner with a little bit of shimmer.

Is this not amazing? Just a little goes a long way, the consistency is so smooth and buttery for a loose powder and it blends like a dream. I am in love already.

I wanted to post a picture of what inspired each shadow. Just because I love Star Wars that much. It is a disease.

With only a little bit of the sample baggie, the shadow is nice and opaque in one swatch. I love the cool tones of this.

See the other three after the jump!