Palette Comparison: Tarina Tarantino Magical vs. Maybelline Violet Femmes

So today I received Tarina Tarantino's Jewel Eyeshadow Palette in Magical, and thought it looked awfully similar to something I already own... Maybelline's Eyestudio in 120 Violet Femmes from their fall collection. So, I did a comparison!

Specifically, the colors that I thought could be dupes are:

this dark eggplant purple

this rosey taupe

I did wet and dry swatches of the palettes, so here are the dry swatches to start:

Maybeline Violet Femmes, applied dry

Tarina Tarantino Magical, applied  dry

Top: Maybeline Violet Femmes, applied dry
Bottom: Tarina Tarantino Magical, applied  dry

taupes dry

These palettes look much more different on the skin than in the palette. Those eggplant purples look the same in the pan, but come off extremely differently - the Tarino Tarantino one applies so much darker, it is more similar to the darkest purple in the Maybelline palette.

On the other hand, the taupes I would call near perfect dupes when dry.


And now for the wet swatches:

Maybeline Violet Femmes, applied wet

Tarina Tarantino Magical, applied  wet

Top: Maybeline Violet Femmes, applied wet
Bottom: Tarina Tarantino Magical, applied  wet

purples wet

And when applied wet, we can see the opposite situation! The rosey taupe in the Tarina Tarantino palette applied so much denser than the Maybelline version, they look nothing alike any more.

However, by  some strange magic, those eggplant purples that were so dissimilar when dry are now basically perfect dupes! They both have the same warm brown undertone, warm purple shimmer, and uneven application - so weird.

So, to summarize: to me the taupes are dupes when dry, and the eggplant purples are dupes when wet. Even though the rest of the colors in these palettes aren't dupes, they will create extremely similar looks on the eye. 

I think both of these would be especially gorgeous on brown eyes, and while the Maybelline is a lot more affordable (around $8, versus $32 for Tarina Tarantino), it was limited edition.I like both of the palettes but unfortunately, the light color in the Maybelline palette is pretty useless because it has horrific application and just looks like a silver glitter dusting. I would recommend the Tarina Tarantino palette because of the availability, silky, dense formula, and because the light pink shade is a beautifully unique iridescent pearl. 

Hope that was helpful!

-<3 Christie

MAC Syrup Drugstore Dupe in Lipgloss Form

I, like many other women adore MAC Syrup lipstick. I also love drugstore makeup, and I especially love finding drugstore dupes!

I am glad to say that if you prefer lipgloss over lipstick, or just adore Syrup that you want to have the color in another formulation, there is a DS lipstick that is very dupe-worthy!

I bought it today for $8.99, and it is a beautiful new lipgloss from the Maybelline The Elixir colorsensational  called Mauve Mystique. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Mauve Mystique on the left, Syrup on the right

Mauve Mystique on the left half of my lips, Syrup on the right

different lighting/camera

You can see it's just the same color in gloss form. It also as the same vanilla scent! If anything, Mauve Mystique is a touch more blue-toned, but they come off as complete dupes on the lips. 

Enjoy!

-Christie

a-england Saint George

Now here's an absolute beaute from a-england's The Legend collection. I've never had an a-england polish before, but I've always felt like I like or love a great proportion more of their colors than the average brand.

Saint George is stunning. Abso-freaking-lutely-gorgeous. It straddles the border between electric teal and emerald green, and it has beautiful fine, scattered holographic flecks. I didn't get the bottle new, so I'm not sure if the texture is the same as a new bottle, but mine could have used a couple drops of thinner. It was opaque in ONE coat, but I did two 'cause one just feels wrong.

In the light box, you can't really see the holo...

 But in direct artificial light... BOOM!

Anyone know knows me could have predicted I would like this polish because it's teal and holographic, which is a magical combo in my book!

Up next will be a collective haul from swaps, blog sales, online, and retail purchases including an amaaaaazing (and huge!) package from a friend in Germany. Don't miss it!

- <3 Christie

Catrice Saran Wrap Nails

I stumbled upon the "saran wrap mani," and fell in love with the technique. It's SUPER easy too, and (in my opinion), classier than crackle.

All you have to do is:
1. Cut up a small square or two of plastic wrap, crumple into a ball
2. Base coat
3. Color #1
4. Color #2 and quickly! dab with the cling wrap to your liking
5. Top coat
6. Clean up!

This is Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans alone

Gosh, I wish those blue sparkles in the bottle were visible on the nail....

You can just *barely* see the shimmer in it

Cartice Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans is a dusty, medium-dark greenish blue. It has bright blue hidden shimmer, that just doesn't show on the nail...so sad, but it's still a gorgeous color! I have to say, it had some problems with application...it was a bit thick and prone to bald patches for my taste. It also didn't self-level especially well. Even then, I still like it because the color is so bootyful!

Then, I added a coat of Catrice London Weather Forecast one nail at a time, dabbing with saran wrap. Magic!!

Luuuurve! When I was maybe 13, I painted my room by rag rolling, and this is the same effect, I love it! What do you think?

- <3 Christie

My Nail Journey

Humble beginnings.

Throughout my life, I always struggled with nail biting. I remember trying to stop several times - my nails would begin to grow, but as soon as they got slightly long, I would accidentally destroy them and give up. About a year ago, I discovered nail blogs, MakeUpAlley, water marbling, and all the wondrous things in the nail world. I began to do my nails, but my poor, awkwardly-positioned hands still looked like this....

I played around with a bunch of cool techniques, learned more about cleanup, and got more and more into polish, but still REALLY struggled with taking good care of my digits.

Over time, I got better at making my nails even and letting them grow out, and worked on my photography skills.

And now, my nails and I are bffs! <3 They grew out to a length I love, and I found a shape that works for me. I have polish on all the time, so they never (knock on wood) break, yehoo! I love doing my nails more than ever.

Hits Twist

I hope you enjoyed seeing my transformation, and feel free to ask any questions!

- <3 Christie

Hello, World!

Hello, and welcome!!

My name is Christine, and I am a 21-year-old college student who has a passion for nail polish.  I also love wine, marching band, and videogames - go figure.

I always loved polish, but have been seriously into it for about a year now. In that time, I have built up *quite* the stash, and honed my photography skills. With that realization, I have been feeling a growing desire to share my polish obsession with the world. I love reading nail blogs, and I enjoy sharing my manicures pictures with others, so I am hoping to make this a place where I can interact with people who feel the same way about polish as I do.

I hope to not just post swatches here. I want it to be a mix of swatches, NOTDs, nail art tutorials, and random things like frankens, and even nail polish crafts.

So that's me and my plan...why don't we get started?!