Entries for Wednesday August 31

China Glaze’s Sci-fi

• Manufacturer: China Glaze
• Availability: originally released as part of China Glaze's Khrome collection
• Color Range: metallic cool lilac-silver shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$6 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

OPI’s Designer Series Classic

• Manufacturer: OPI
• Availability: part of OPI's Designer Series collection
• Color Range: gold-tan holographic shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$9 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
• Would you purchase again: no (don't love the color)
• Similar shades:

Required four coats for full opacity, and the holographic effect is scattered rather than linear (as in all OPI DS polishes). It also required four coats for full opacity - but then, so do most of the Designer Series polishes. I would choose not to get this again because of the overall shade. The gold-brown color isn’t my absolute favorite, it’s almost too yellow on me. I think the holographics work to actually make it seem more yellow…so definitely not my color. It’s also no longer easy to find, though I’ve seen it at my local Ulta, and it does pop up on Ebay from time to time. I like Illuminate much better - a cooler brown with a little less yellow, and a very faint green duochrome effect.

Zoya’s Tao

• Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
• Availability: part of Zoya's Mirrors collection
• Color Range: cool medium-dark grey shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

No, you aren’t hallucinating. Yes, this is slightly similar to Zoya’s Freja. The finish is different (I’m not entirely sure -=how=- to classify the finishes for most of the polishes in Zoya’s Mirrors collection. They’re not frost…they’re not metallic…they’re…distressed metallic?!??), the base color is just a little lighter. But it is highly similar. If you tried Freja but didn’t like it because it was just a hair too dark, Tao might strike you the same way.

That said, the polish applies very smoothly and lasts well. Under the lighting that I used, Tao and Marina look fairly similar. They are close - about as close as Zoya’s Kelly and Caitlin - but Marina has stronger blue tones and Tao is far more neutral.

Entries for Tuesday August 30

Morgana Cryptoria’s Hibiscus lip balm

• Manufacturer: Morgana Cryptoria
• Availability: from the online storefront
• Color Range: baby pink with silver-green shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7 for 4 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

I'd tried about a handful of Morgana's lip balms, but stayed away from the pinks - at least initially. I wanted to broaden my color palette, I wanted to see if some of these shades that had generally been on the fringe of my comfort zone would work for me, and pink was the "safe" color. So I left it for a later order. I was initially happy and sad with my lip balm purchases, because while I loved the formula and found a few shades that were absolutely perfect(Coventry and Amaranth), I also got some colors that just don't work well for me. In my last order from the lip balms, I got Hibiscus - reasoning that it would work good as a "daily" balm when I didn't want very much in the way of color, just wanted the balm and a bare hint of tint. Hibiscus is a softer baby pink. It's not so opaque that I end up looking like either a mannequin or like I'm wearing a little girl lipstick - I like that neither of those happens. I don't see the green duochrome that the manufacturer hints at, so it must be very faint. The balm has a very slight shimmer to it, not quite a full-on metallic finish, but not a frost either. It's delicate. It matches the color. If you want to try Morgana's lip balms but want to start out with a neutral or softer color to see how you like the formula, Hibiscus is an excellent starting point.

L’Oréal’s Infallible Le Rouge Lipstick in Rambling Rose (212)

• Manufacturer: L'Oréal
• Availability: part of the Infallible Le Rouge Lipstick collection
• Color Range: medium pinked rose creme
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: USD$9.99 for .09 ounces / 2.55 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes - but only from etailers, because the tubes aren't sealed

NYX Cosmetics’ Apricot Diamond Sparkle Lipstick

Manufacturer: NYX Cosmetics
• Availability: part of the Diamond Sparkle Lipstick collection
• Color Range: medium-deep red-orange sparkle
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: USD$4.50 for .14 ounces / 4 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes - but only from etailers, because the tubes aren't sealed

There’s enough red in this that the color is actually wearable (well…that might be the combination of the sparkle and the color.) This is more of a “dark dried-apricot” color under a red bulb, than a straight orange that one might expect from something named “Apricot”. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, seeing how red Peach Round Lipstick is. NYX seems to have some interesting ways of either naming or perceiving color.

It has the same issues as all the Diamond Sparkle lipsticks do: the color applies well, but the formula feels dry and a touch uncomfortable to me; the color lasts longer than the Round Lipstick shades; and unless you REALLY want sparkly lipstick, this probably won’t work for you.

Entries for Monday August 29

Aromaleigh v1’s Bliss

• Manufacturer: Aromaleigh v1
• Availability: released as part of Aromaleigh v1's Valentine 2009 collection
• Color Range: warm silvery-copper brown shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 1.2 grams; $1.30 for a sample baggie
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

A little less gold and a bit more silver; and the undertones are a little more coppery than red; but this shade is a softer-based cousin of Fyrinnae’s Feline Familiars. This is a bit soft to easily be used as a liner shade, but that makes it easy for all-over use. I don’t have to worry about over-application or the resulting color being too dark.

Concrete Minerals’ Mad Hatter

• Manufacturer: Concrete Minerals
• Availability: part of the regular eyeshadow line; also available in the Alice kit
• Color Range: deep raisin-purple shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7 for 1.5 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: Bare Escentuals' Popular (sort of)

Mad Hatter was a pleasant, interesting surprise. It’s marketed as a red-brown, and it looks like that in the pot…but when I applied it, it looked much more purple with some brown undertones. It applies dark enough to make a good liner shade. If I ever learn to do a proper smokey eye, I might have to try using this!

NYX Cosmetics’ Sky Pink Pearl

• Manufacturer: NYX Cosmetics
• Availability: part of the Pearl Mania collection
• Color Range: medium-light pink pearl
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: $4.25 for 1 gram
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: Bare Escentuals' Pink Sands (different finish)

This is a good solid soft-but-not-invisible pink with a soft shimmer finish. (I don’t know that I’d really call it a “pearl” finish, though.) One vial looks deceptively tiny, but one vial fills a 10-gram sifter jar quite easily.

Entries for Saturday August 27

Everyday Minerals’ Concentrate

• Manufacturer: Everyday Minerals
• Availability: from the online storefront; part of the regular eyeshadow line.
• Color Range: cool silver shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7 for a 10-gram jar with sifter / 2.5 grams
• Would you purchase again: possibly
• Similar shades:

$7 for a 10-gram jar with sifter / 2.5 grams