Bath and Body Works Shimmer Gel and Body Lotion Duo in Sweet Pea *UPDATED

What a mouthful of a title, huh?

Obviously, I *love, Love, LOOOOOVE* this.  So much that I forgot to take pictures of it until it was at this level!

I'm sure pretty much anyone who has ever stepped into a Bath and Body works has smelled their Sweet Pea scent as it is one of their classics, so this review will be more on the actual product than the scent (which is amazing).

You turn the top to get more lotion or more shimmer and my only complaint about the product is that the balance in the middle is way off, and it wasn't just my bottle as a friend who bought one when we were there had the same complaint about hers.  It really isn't a big deal, though, a bit of tinkering finds the mix right for you, and I do love the pump top much more than the tube or squeezy kind.  While you do still have to pick it up and push the pump due to the way it is set, it is still much easier than fiddling with caps and lids when you have slippery lotion hands.  Some bottles I've seen, I wonder if the designer of it has even ever USED lotion.

It tends to leave a lot of shimmer on your hands, but just a light shimmer on the rest of your body if you set it at roughly 1/2 and 1/2 like I do.  I took a picture of my hands since I couldn't get the shimmer to show up on the camera on my arm, so here's an idea of what it comes out as, only not quite that concentrated!

When it comes out of the bottle, it is this really pretty sparkly pink swirl, so its like getting out of the shower then OMGSPARKLYHAPPINESS!  I love this stuff and can't wait to get more when I run out, so thank the Universe we live close to a B&BW outlet.  It leaves my skin soft, shimmery, and smelling so great that it clings to my clothes, the sheets, everything!  Not to mention that since it gets on the sheets, the Wookie has been looking FABULOUS!

Verdict?  Adore it.  A wonderful product and I am very happy with it.  Will definitely repurchase!

***UPDATE - I finished this entire container and bought TWO more.  Another of Sweet Pea and one in Paris Amour and am now halfway through both those bottles as well...Impressive, considering there are others I use, as well.  Variety is the spice of life and all that.  :)  However, I plan to keep buying this stuff as long as they keep making it!

<3 WW

Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Review

*These were a gift from a friend, but all opinions are 100% my own.

As promised yesterday, here's today's Estee Lauder eye shadow review!

These two palettes were in the big box o' awesome and since they are the same colors I figured I'd review them at the same time.  The larger palette is above and I love the way the case opens.  One side flips up and slides out and there is a mirror inside.  Both palettes came with the standard, crappy sponge applicators, but that's normal and I don't count against a product for it.

These are Estee Lauder Pure Color Eye Shadow in Mocha Light, Mocha Dark, Smokey, and Rose Confetti.

I swatched these over a primer and had to lay them on very heavy to get them to show up in the pictures at all...So heavy, in fact, that you can see even in the pictures how cake-y they are!  >.<

The second palette only has two colors which are, as you can see, the same as the bottom two on the larger palette.

I swatched the colors on the smaller palette over the top of the ones from the larger one they correspond to.  They are even less pigmented as I tried to put them just as heavy, but this was the best result I got.  I will say that they do go on nicely and have very little fallout, to their credit.  I tried them both alone and over primer and had good results on both days.

The outside of the cases.  From what I can see, the quad goes for about $18 on amazon and the duo for around $5.

As you can see, they are the same colors as the ones on the other palette - Pure Color Smoky Ember and Rivera Rose - the names changed a touch, but the numbers are the same - 07 and 11 - and the 'Pure Color' is the same line, so I have no clue why they come out so much differently than the others.

Someone pointed out yesterday that Estee has less pigment in their shadows due to the fact that the crowd they cater to would tend to prefer lighter, less dramatic colors, and that makes sense, but it escapes me then why their blush is so bright!  *.*  If you like light, natural, neutrals with very little pigment, I could see this working for you.  I could see these also being great for anyone just learning to use makeup as they would take a concerted effort to over-do.

All in all, they aren't bad and go on nicely, so if they are what you are looking for, I'd say they are an okay buy.  I tend to still hold it against them a bit that they don't have much pigment and I also am pretty turned off by the fact that the quality seems to be so much different between batches.  I like to know I'm getting the same product every time when I find something I love enough to repurchase, not a crap shoot.  Consistency is key.

<3
Wookie Wifey

Estee Lauder Bronzer and Blush Review

*This product was a gift from a friend, but opinions are still 100% my own.

Well I guess you guys already figured out I'm really bad at making the fancy little deedelee-doos over foreign words (bad me).  Sorry.  You still get the concept, I hope!

Let's face it:  Estee Lauder is sort of a hoity-toity brand that people should be able to trust, at least for the money they shell out.  Fair?  Well, that is the exact reason I want to grab whoever is in charge of their make up line and give them a shake and ask them what the hell they are thinking.

Now, this isn't a bad product.  The colors are nice, but they are VERY pigmented, as you will see in the swatch.  You have to be quite careful when applying.  (HELLO Mario bewbs.)  >.<

The bronzer is Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer, the blushes are Pure Color Blush in Pink Kiss Satin and Lover's Blush Shimmer.

The Lover's Blush, as you can see, is light and goes on nicely and looks incredible on, and it is my favorite, but the other two are HOLY PIGMENT, BATMAN!, and I didn't even swatch them heavily.  I will give them credit in that the Pink Kiss satin blush is truly a satin...that bit of shimmer you see in it is where I accidentally dusted it while swatching the Lover's Blush.  Whoops.

Now, the problem I have is this:  I plan to review their eye shadow tomorrow, so you will see exactly what I'm bitching about then, but their eye shadows are extremely lightly pigmented you almost can't see them at all, to the point where I had hell getting the swatches.  Why, why, WHY aren't these guys applying the pigment technology they obviously have to their eye colors?!?  It is like they are perfectly capable of making their products better, but just don't!  GAAAH

*ahem*

Sorry.

Anyway, this isn't a bad product, and I do love the Lover's Blush.  The other two aren't bad, you just have to be careful applying them as they are amazingly easy to over-do and quite hard to cover up or fix without washing your face and starting over.  Also, as with most of these kits, the brush is rubbish, but that is to be expected, so I don't count it against them.  I found this exact trio, with the bag, which I didn't take pictures of because I'm good like that, but it is a really cute purple snakeskin mini bag, on amazon for about $9.  If you're good with blush and can make use of all 3, then I'd say it is a good deal for you, but for someone like me who would only be after the one color...a bit of an indulgence, maybe.  However, I am glad I got to try it simply because I will enjoy using the Lover's Blush so much!

<3 WW

BITE Palette Review

*This item was a gift from an awesome friend, but all reviews are 100% honest and alllll mine.  You may notice I prefer to quote amazon for prices, but that is simply because it is somewhere almost anyone can go look up the product immediately instead of having to find x store which isn't even in your city, so you'd have to travel to x and....yeah.  Amazon ftw.

This is another one that *very* pleasantly surprised me.  I may or may not have mentioned this in my Crimson Amulet review, but I don't usually get along with lipstick that is in the little trays.  At all.  Normal tubes and the ones with the wands I can handle, but I hate the trays.  However, this palette is so great that I don't even mind it at all, though I do still use my finger to apply them because...fuck a lip brush, guys, seriously.  But you just want to see pictures, right?  :)

These appear to go for about $12 on amazon, which when you factor in is only 4 bucks a color, that's really not bad.  Mine is rather scratched up from bouncing around miscellaneous makeup boxes and bags, but you can see here in the original post from just after I got it how nice it was brand new.  It is a cute matte black with a ribbon that almost looks like a little book and has "BITE" in gloss black.

Inside, it has a brush, which is nice by lip brush standards, but I still avoid it, a mirror, and three colors - Restina, Rose, and Tannin.

If you'd told me back when I got this that I would use Restina and Rose almost exclusively, I'd have laughed you out of the room.  Before I got this palette, I never wore anything other than red, so I naturally thought, when I opened it, that Tannin would be my go-to color here.  I was wrong.  Instead, I've been putting Restina in the middle of my top and bottom lips and Rose on the outsides and blend them together in a gradient effect and it just looks SO CUTE.  *.*  I've only worn my usual reds once or twice since I discovered that.

Here are the swatches, though the picture could have come out better.  Restina looks pretty true to color, but the Rose is a bit light here compared to how it comes out on your lips.  It is build-able, so you can go from a sheer pink to a nice, opaque pink.  I usually have mine opaque on the outsides then less as I blend into the Restina.  The Tannin goes on almost like a stain if you put it on thin, but it is build-able as well.

The products themselves feel light and not at all tacky or slimy once they are on.  They last pretty well - about average, I'd say - they do not bleed or run, in my experience, and wear comfortably.

I am just in love with this palette and will more than likely buy another one when this runs out.  I think it is a good value for the price and definitely a keeper!

<3  WW

NYX Crimson Amulet Palette Review

This is going to be one hocking HUGE review with a lot of pictures because the palette itself is pretty massive.  Hubs got this for me after I'd been drooling over it on amazon because of how awesomely creepy and cute it is, and I think it was on for about $13 bucks, which is completely worth it.

This is how it came, packaged nicely in a padded envelope and wrapped in extra bubble wrap just to be safe.  I like this because it helps ensure that none of the cakes inside are broken.

Front and back of the box the palette was in.

Front and back of the actual palette, which adorned with Collinwood and is adorable and creeptastic.

On the inside, the first 'page' has 24 eye shadows and a mirror.  They are supposed to be 1/2 shimmer, 1/2 flat, but as you will see from the swatches, it is more like 3/4 shimmer.

The other 'page' has the basic makeup looks of the main female characters from the movie on one side (though they are vague as hell, no actual tutorials, but they are simple looks, so that's no biggie), and tons o' goodies on the other side - 5 blushes...I think one or two are supposed to be bronzers, but they aren't brown enough to be bronzers for my taste.  The largest blush is supposedly a dupe for NARS Orgasm. Next to those are an eyeliner, a primer, and a hilighter, which I've never used but decide I now love, and along the bottom are 4 lip colors.  That's quite a bit of makeup for the price, if you ask me.

Here are the blush swatches.  I piled them on pretty heavy-handed with no blending so that you can actually see the color.  That vibrant red will end up being eye shadow since I love red eye shadow anyway.  The larger one...Well, if this is a dupe for NARS Orgasm, then I can see what all the hype is about.  This is a gorgeous, blend-able, layer-able color that I've fallen for, and I'm not a blush-wearer.  Before I got this and the big box o' awesome, I just always used a hint of bronzer, but I am a convert now.

This is the shadow base, which works just as well as my ELF primer (which I've heard is better than the Urban Decay one), although it is a little oilier than the ELF primer, but that goes away when it dries, and the eye shadows that are swatched farther down are swatched on top of this so that you can get the full effect.  Also, it is cute and tiny.

The mini liquid liner.  This has a standard brush and is easy to apply and control and lasts quite well.  It is next to a bobby pin, so you can OMGLOOKITTHECUTE.  *.*

A little design doodled with the liquid liner so that you can see it goes on opaque and is easy to maneuver for fancy lines.

This is just a shot of me holding the palette so you can get an idea of how big this thing is.  It is about the  size of a paperback.

The lip colors.  I think they are advertised as glosses on the package, but to me they are more like sheer, build-able lipsticks.  Out of all the reviews I read on this palette, these are the only things that got bad marks, but I don't see a problem with them.  As long as you don't apply gobs of them, they aren't very sticky, have a nice, sheer color, and I think they are quite nice.  I was pleasantly surprised as I don't get along with MOST glosses.

Here are the eye colors over the primer, all in the same order as on the palette.  I adore the light purple on the middle left, it is so shimmery.

...and finally, the neutrals.  I'm not big into neutrals, like, at all, but these do have a nice glimmer to a lot of the colors and all the lighter ones will get used up since I do the vintage light-eye-shadow-with-cat-eye look a lot.

This is very much worth the value and if you're looking for something to just pop in your bag or whatnot, this is a good thing to have as it has almost everything you need already inside.  Add a mineral foundation and some mascara and you should be completely set!

<3 WW

Sephora Glitter Eyeliner Review

This eyeliner is actually pretty good, and as glitter liners go, I usually don't expect much because, let's be honest - most of them suck.

This is Sephora Eye Glitter Glitter Eyeliner in Black (redundant names make me giggle).

It is quite sparkly.

As you can see, it looks nice alone, though it is a bit on the sheer side, but it is layer-friendly and it looks gorgeous over a plain black liner.  It isn't super sparkly, as you can see in the picture, just leaves a hint of sparkle.  I'm still searching for the Holy Grail SUPER glitter liner.

It has a small, classic-style brush, which I like as I've used them for so long that, to me, they are the easiest.

All in all, I'd say this is the best glitter liner I've tried.  You can snag this on amazon for about 16 bucks and I'd say that's pretty well worth it because there is a lot of product here.  I wish I'd had the forethought to take a picture of it next to my other liquid liners because it positively dwarfs them in size.  If you're looking for a good glitter liner, then from what I've tried, I'd say this is your best bet.

In other news, I just went through my makeup stash and I can't believe how much stuff I still have to review, so I think perhaps it is time to buckle down!  Fasten your seatbelts, girls, there's LOTS of reviews coming up!

<3
WW

I Won!

I hope you're sitting down.

I actually won a giveaway.

I've entered several over the years as I follow quite a few blogs and many of them host giveaways, but this is the first one I've actually won, so I am super excited.  The giveaway was hosted by Violet, who has an awesome blog you should check out if you haven't, and it was for a gorgeous bracelet by Earth Jewel Creations!  When I saw the giveaway, I knew I had to enter as the lady who runs Earth Jewel Creations makes everything herself and I've always been a huge fan of handmade items and the bohemian flair on a lot of her work just suits me perfectly.

When I opened the envelope this morning, I saw this:  a bunch of cute-looking things all neatly packed in a clear cellophane wrapper.

Laid out, there was a pretty card from Violet, a card from Earth Jewel Creations, a little card also from the same place explaining about the stones on the bracelet, of course, the bracelet, which was in the pretty little sheer drawstring jewelry bag with gold metallic hearts, and Violet was even sweet enough to include a cute little Bergamot Bunny sticker!  ^_^

As you can see, the bracelet is lovely.  I was surprised by the weight, as it is much heaver than I'd thought it would be due to the quality of the stones and metals.  The pearls have a beige tint with a nice iridescence and I am in love with the toggle clasp.  Not only does it have hearts that match the charm, but it actually stays in place!  Most toggle bracelets I've had end up falling off since the little bar just finds its way right out, but this one seems to be better made and I haven't had a problem with it all day.

A close-up of the Bergamot sticker because she's so cute!

And here's the bracelet on.  I love the way it hangs, and after a few minutes you don't feel the weight at all, so it isn't as heavy as it feels when being worn.  I adore this and will get a lot of wear out of it, especially since I have a freshwater pearl necklace it will match perfectly.  A massive thank you to Violet for hosting the giveaway and to Earth Jewel Creations for providing the beautiful piece!  Be sure to check out both pages if you're looking for great craft ideas or a nice piece of hand-made jewelry for a friend!

<3
WW

NYC Lip Gloss Review

*This product was received free through the company.  Opinions are my own and 100% honest

So this is a bad one.  The only plus it has to it is that it has a very mild coconut scent, but it doesn't extend to the flavor which is...sort of like Orajel.  As you can see, I tried it over red lipstick, though I did try it alone once as well just to make sure I gave it a fair shot.

The applicator is very oddly shaped, flimsy, and long.  It is sort of like trying to apply product with a wet noodle.

As you can see, it is VERY shiny, but it is also just as sticky and slimy as it looks.

Also, it doesn't stay where you put it.  Ten minutes after application, even without rubbing my lips together, it was beginning to slowly move outwards and I had to take it off because it was starting to look like I was drooling on myself.

I will not be buying this one.  It is honestly the worst lip product I've ever tried.  Consider yourself warned.

<3 WW

How to Dye Human Hair Extensions

I bought these extensions forever ago just to use them to see if I really wanted to bleach my hair or not.  I'd bought a platinum one for that test and a hot pink one just for fun.  Since my hair is now usually blonde with a gazillion random colors in it, I don't really need them anymore, but I still decided to take them out, make them look nice since they'd been tossed in a bag of hair accessories, and play around with them.

I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but this is how I did it.  I used an eyelash comb, q-tips, Manic Panic in Atomic Turquoise, and plastic wrap.

First, I laid down a piece of plastic to protect the surface since Manic Panic does stain.  I used the lash comb to get the tangles out.

Then, using the q-tips, I slathered dye on one side, flattening the extension out as I went.

Then, when that side was done, I flipped the whole thing over and did the other one.

Then I wrapped it up to let it sit.  I didn't time it because Manic Panic can be literally left on overnight if you want, even on your own head.  I just left it in for a few hours.

Then, I unwrapped it and rinsed it.  I wanted it to be straight, but I was too lazy to get out my flat iron and it was still wet, so instead I laid it flat between some wax paper and did this:

Yep.  Just plunked a bunch of shit on top of it.  >.<

Later that evening it was dry, straight, and a gorgeous glossy blue!

Easy!

<3
WW