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A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

Nails Are Making Waves With the Zoya Beach & Surf Collection

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zoya beach & surf

What I wouldn’t give to be somewhere with a warm ocean right now… And baby waves! Because I can’t remember the last time I went surfing.

Soon… Soon, I say, but until then, the Zoya Beach & Surf collection will just have to do.

Available now in stores and online, Beach and Surf are actually two different sub-collections of six full-size polishes each. Twelve shades total, all new for summer, for $8 each.

There are also two $48 kits available — one called the Beach Surf Collection Sampler, with Regan, Lara, Shelby, Arizona, Tracie and Wednesday; and the other called the Surf Collection Sampler, with Rory, Carly, Kimber, Myrta, Meg and Zuza.

I’ve been wearing Kimber on my toes for going on 10 days now, and it still looks pretty great! Very shiny, and I hardly see any chips (just a couple at the edges of a few toenails). Not bad at all. For the record, I’m also wearing it with a base and top coat.

Like all Zoya polishes, these are free of toluene, formaldehyde and DBP (phthalates). Oh, and also camphor.

The Zoya Beach Collection: Surf’s Up!

zoya shelby 1
Shelby

zoya arizona 2
Arizona

zoya tracie 3
Tracie
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Mauve Over, Heavy Makeup, and Make Room for Becca Eye Tint in Romanticism

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becca eye tint in romanticism

Lately, like a good love song, Becca Eye Tint in Romanticism ($24) has been my weekend jam! Since I haven’t been in the mood to wear a full eye look on Saturdays and Sundays, I’ve been turning to this creamy eye tint in a tube.

A lightly tinted mauve with silver shimmer and a finish with a glint of gloss, this cream-to-powder eyeshadow from Becca’s Balearic Love collection may not be flashy, but I sure do like how it looks. I love that when I stand a few feet away from a mirror, I can tell that I’m wearing a little color on my lids, but I don’t feel like I’m wearing a ton of makeup.

For more on the Becca Balearic Love collection, check out…

It’s one of those products that doesn’t broadcast itself over the loudspeakers, if you catch my drift. People will think to themselves, “Pretty! She did something different with her look today, but I’m not sure exactly what…” Like getting highlights a shade or two lighter or darker than your natural hair color, Romanticism might not be obvious at first, but it’s easy to spot upon closer inspection.

With a dewy finish, it looks a little bit wet to me, like a raven-haired mermaid’s lids when she pokes her head above the water.

And speaking of water, that’s something Romanticism was designed to resist. It does a decent job, too, holding up fine to rainy days and light workouts. Now, I wouldn’t wear it to spend the day at the beach or pool, but it can stand a little water (for a full day of frolicking in the surf, the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams might be a better bet).

becca romanticism

becca romanticism swatch
Romanticism unblended (left) and blended (right)
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For $45, the Tom Ford Beauty Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Dust Should Be Worth Its Weight in Gold

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tom ford beauty gold dust ultra shine lip gloss

If I were a beauty pirate sailing the seven seas in search of pricey golden makeup booty, I’d say, “Aye, matey!” to Tom Ford’s Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Dust ($45). If I were an ancient Egyptian princess with the ability to time travel, I’d visit a Neimans in 2012 and return to the past with a tube to store in my sacred pyramid. It would go in a special burial chamber reserved for shimmery, sheer, high-end golden glosses, which would be next door to the chamber reserved for Tabs, because I know he’d insist on being buried as close as possible to the really, really expensive stuff. After all, he is a cat with a taste for the “finer things” (his words).

But if I were almost anyone else … I’d have serious reservations about this warm and shimmery golden lippie, the sole lip product in the new 13-piece limited edition Tom Ford Beauty collection for spring 2012.

Truth be told, the words “Lip Lacquer” on the tube initially confused me. I expected the product itself to be more intense, with bigger shine! — and the wherewithal to last from at least breakfast till lunch (something akin to a MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass).

Instead, Gold Dust is a breathy, barely-there whisper of shimmer and color that gives up after about 90 minutes on my lips.

Super sheer color and a limited wear time for almost $50?

Hmm…

Tom Ford Beauty Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Dust

  • Texture: A middleweight with a smooth, non-sticky texture.
  • Packaging: The long tube, with its angled plastic applicator, is practical, I guess, but I would have liked something fancier, considering the price.
  • Flavor and scent: My nose picks up a faint brown sugar flavor and scent (yum!)
  • Wear time: Not great. I get between 60-90 minutes.
  • Finish: Very soft, like a powder puff lens.

tom ford beauty gold dust ultra shine lip gloss

tom ford gold dust ultra shine lip gloss
Clockwise from the golden pot on the left: Cream Color for Eyes in Guilt ($35), Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Dust ($45) and Cream Color for Eyes in Illicit ($35)

tom ford spring 2012 swatches
Swatches from the left: Cream Color for Eyes in Illicit, Cream Color for Eyes in Guilt and Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Gold Dust
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Nails Are Taking a Bright Turn at Urban Decay With the Urban Decay Summer 2012 Nail Kit

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Urban decay summer 2012 nail kit box

Just a quick hi and some swatches of the Urban Decay summer 2012 nail kit to hopefully brighten your Tuesday.

It’s raining here today, and the forecast calls for more rain this week, so brightness is certainly something I’m hungry for.

I’m wearing two coats in each of the swatches below. Still not sure about pricing, but I’m assuming the kit will cost about as much as last year’s, probably around $28.

urban decay woodstock nail swatch
Woodstock

urban decay showboat nail swatch
Showboat
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