Movie Tie-Ins: Awesome or Gimmick?

So, with the advent of movie tie-in sets for cosmetics, and more specifically nail polish, I wanted to take a moment to look at some of the recent sets and put my thoughts on how well they embody a movie's themes while still releasing a quality product. I've found that when shopping for nail polish especially, this is a difficult task. Some companies put together an amazing set overall that really fits the themes and some only partially do it with some off the wall colors. Luckily, I have yet to see a set that entirely misses the mark. This relieves me because a lot of these tie-ins are movies or general subject matter that I love.


From L to R: Steady As She Rose, Mermaid's Tears, and Stranger Tides.

One of the first movie tie-ins that I bought polishes from was the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides set from OPI. This set comprised of true pastels (a hue with both white and black  mixed in) and ended up to be some great subtle shades. I use this a lot for zombie themed nails where I put the Silver Shatter on top. The reason I still love this collection? I have yet to see the colors duplicated which is something that OPI is infamous for doing.


From L to R: Gettin' Piggy With It, Excuse' Moi, Divine Swine, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Gone Gonzo, Rainbow Connection.

From L to R: Wocka Wocka, Meep Meep Meep, Designer... De Better, Warm and Fozzie, Pepe's Purple Passion.

The Muppets collection is one that I fell head over heels for. There is only one thing that I found out later that has me a little irked that I hurried out to buy it. One of the more popular colors, Rainbow Connection, is available in the Nicole by OPI set Kardashian Kolor under the name Rainbow in the S-Kylie. You can find swatches here at Polish-A-Holic's blog.

Even then, it's nice to know when a polish can possibly be replaced but there should be a line drawn. These collections weren't even released 6 months apart. I also just purchased most of the colors out of the Amazing Spider-Man collection and I am very happy with them so far. Now the color Your Web or Mine? doesn't necessarily fit the theme, but I think the color is a great one when not associated with Spider-Man (more to come in my upcoming review).

From L to R: Metallic 4 Life, Fly, Pink Friday, and Save Me

Some of these thoughts not only apply to the movie tie-ins but to pop culture tie-ins in general. There was one color of the Nicki Minaj set (pictured above except Superbass Shatter and Did It On 'Em) that was too close to one of the Shrek Forever After colors for comfort. Comparison shots show differences between the two but it also was a strange color for me (Fiercely Fiona being a yellow and Did It On 'Em being a warm yellow-green). Yukie has done some awesome side-by-sides here.

China Glaze's Capitol Colours set was probably one of the only ones where I haven't found myself disappointed and finding dupes. I personally own Fast Track, Stone Cold, Agro, Harvest Moon, Riveting, Electrify, and Luxe and Lush. Even after the change in marketing, names, and inspiration, I felt that most of the colors were spot on and the set itself was balance between bright, glittery, cremes, mattes, and neutrals.

All in all, I think it is wise to do as much research on colors as possible before you rush out and buy a limited edition collection. Also, buying partial sets is something that everyone can and should do. With my blog being so focused on geek oriented items, it's so hard to figure out what's worth my money going toward. How do you feel about movie tie-in sets? Do you love them? Hate them? Let me know!

OPI's Pink Friday, Metallic 4 Life, and Fly

So, when I first heard that OPI and Nicki Minaj were pairing up for a set of nail polishes, I thought it was a match made in heaven. With Nicki's personas and brightly colored wardrobe, I knew this would be a set to watch out for. I was unfortunately only able to get 3 out of the 6 colors in the set but I am okay with that for now and I will explain in a moment. The colors I got were Pink Friday, Metallic 4 Life, and Fly.

First up we have Pink Friday which is probably my favorite out of the set. I got this because the pale bubblegum pink is a subtle color for everyday. In some lights in my house, it even blends in with my skintone when the pink isn't as apparent. However, with this being a pale color, it is extremely hard to get smooth even after 3 coats or more. In the picture above, you can see Pink Friday used as a part of a leopard print manicure for Valentine's Day as the center of the spots. The base color is Wocka Wocka from The Muppets collection.

Fly is a creme teal color that I originally was going to skip over but I thought of some interesting nail art to do with it. The basic color is similar to Who Let the Dorks Out from Sephora by OPI's Glee inspired line and it is indeed a pretty close match. The main difference being the creme finish of Fly as opposed to the glittery peacock finish of Who Let the Dorks Out. This polish was a simple 1-2 coats and it turned out incredibly smooth. Be on the lookout for a manicure inspired by Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb in the future thanks to this color. ;)

Now we have Metallic 4 Life, a silver glitter polish set in a semi-transparent black gel. This gives it a distinct gunmetal look and this might rival the upcoming Set in Stone from China Glaze's Hunger Games inspired polishes. I like the medium glitter and it is a very basic glitter polish. A little too much for everyday but I can see this working for dressy occasions. The polish applies well and above you can see what it looks like with two coats on a press on nail.

Overall, I was pleased with the colors I got. Pink Friday takes some practice to apply smoothly but works well for nail art where you're only adding a little bit here and there. Metallic 4 Life and Fly are better for special occasions or if it fits a costume or outfit you are wearing. They are 1-2 coat polishes though. I will be trying Metallic 4 Life over 2 coats of the creme Black Magic by Fantasy Makers to see what that looks like as one coat would probably look amazing.

Would I Buy Again? Probably... While not perfect, I can see myself using these polishes when I travel.

Review: OPI Muppets Collection

As some of you may know, a while back I posted a press release about the Muppets Holiday collection from OPI and I am so proud to say that I finally picked it up! I wasn't sure if I was initally going to get the entire collection but on seeing them, I had specific reasons for picking up the colors. The formulation overall is really great but I would suggest layering all of the glitters except Excuse Moi over other solid colors. I will list a few of my suggestions but there are so many more.

Top Row L to R: Wocka Wocka, Animal-istic, Meep Meep Meep, Warm and Fozzie, Designer De-Better, Pepe's Purple Passion
Bottom Row L to R: Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Divine Swine, Gone Gonzo, Gettin' Piggy With It, Rainbow Connection, Excuse Moi

Wocka Wocka - While I initially thought that this should have been the one to be the orangey bronze color, I am really in love with this deep cranberry red. It really looks different in different types of light. As I am typing this at the library, it looks like a deep maroon but when I am at home, it takes on more of the bright red color pictured above. I think that is what makes this red individual. The formula is great as it only took 2 coats on my nails and the surface dried relatively quickly.

Animal-istic - An orangey coral red that has an obvious glitter beneath it. At some angles it looks more like a coral pink and at some it looks more like the firey orange you see above. The thing I can say though is that it is a 2 coat formula and it reminds me of Animal's fur around his face. Despite being a holiday collection, I feel like this color is more suited to Summer and even then, it is one of 3 colors that I would only wear on my toes during those sandal wearing months.

Meep Meep Meep - A slight language warning for a moment... This is what I call "Holy Fuck It's Fuschia". It is a bright cool toned pink that is packed with glitter underneath it. This is another of what I consider "Summer Toe Colors" as it isn't something I would wear on my fingers without a reason such as costuming or evening. However, also doing nail art, I can appreciate certain uses for a bright color such as this and I think it would look amazing underneath OPI's Black Shatter or something similar.

Warm and Fozzie - Probably the solid color that I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. Being a Harry Potter fan, I've always been keeping my eye out for that perfect bronze so that I could do Ravenclaw shattered nails. Unfortunately, most of what I've seen have used copper and I've even done that myself with Blue Shatter layered over it. Now, I have something that will make the perfect Ravenclaw nails with the colors from the books.

Designer De-Better - When I first saw this color, I thought it was a metallic silver, but I plesantly found I was wrong. This silver has a warm glow to it, thanks to flecks of orangey copper interspersed through it. This gives the silver a little more depth and warmth and individuality. I would probably still use this as a part of my Slytherin collection though because it will allow for a warm/cool contrase between the green and the flecks of orange.

Pepe's Purple Passion - This is the main color that I was going back and forth on getting. It is s deep grape color with a very subtle glitter in it. In fact, despite how the glitter shows up in the bottle, when the polish dries, it doesn't show up at all. It's a little disappointing. This is one that I would probably use on my toes or with some sort of light Shatter coat to brighten it up. My mind keeps floating to the Silver Shatter but I think the bright purple from Sally Hansen might work as well.

Fresh Frog of Bel Air - The swatch above is a single coat of glitter polish over Fantasy Maker's Black Magic in the solid black. I already spoke a little bit about why I love this polish in my earlier entry but I can't say it enough. This is Slytherin glitter in a bottle. Some colors I suggest layering it over are:

• Black Magic - Fantasy Makers
• Mermaid's Tears - OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides
• Stranger Tides - OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides
• Wocka Wocka - OPI's Muppets
• Designer De-Better - OPI's  Muppets
• OMB - Nicole by OPI

Divine Swine - One of my top three colors from this set. It is a glitter polish set in a clear gel. It has two different sizes and colors of glitter, small round purple glitter and medium hexagonal silver glitter. It is the same idea of Fresh Frog of Bel Air and Gone Gonzo but with a different color for the small glitter. I bought this because I go to parties and assist in running them as well. Soon, my department is going to be changing and my departmental color is purple so I felt that coordinating my polish with my department would be a fun thing to wear at parties. For fun layer it over:

• Black Magic - Fantasy Makers
• Prized Possession Purple - Nicole by OPI
• San Francisco - Sinful Colors



Gone Gonzo - Wow! How much fun is this turquoise blue glitter? Just like Fresh Frog and Divine Swine the turquoise is the small round and hexagonal is silver. I've layered this over a couple of colors already and had so much fun with it. For fans of Star Trek it is the perfect medical/science blue and can layer over black, grey, red, and blue. I see this color getting quite a bit of use on holidays such as Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and Independence Day but it's also a very fun color for the toes when you want quite a bit of sparkle. Suggested pairings include:

• Swimsuit... Nailed It! - OPI's Miss Universe
• Black Magic - Fantasy Makers
• OMB - Nicole by OPI
• Wocka Wocka - OPI's Muppets
• Designer De-Better - OPI's Muppets
• Warm and Fozzie - OPI's Muppets
• Copper Penny - Revlon
• Who Let the Dorks Out? - Sephora by OPI

Gettin' Piggy With It - While on the surface this looks like a red version of the other glitter polishes I was very happy to see that in addition to the larger hexagonal silver, it had larger hexagonal red glitter mixed in with the small round. This is going to be a perennial favorite of mine during football season due to the scarlet and grey being my hometown team. It also would make a great pairing over blue polishes for Independence Day. I also think of ruby slippers when I see this and when put over a red polish although the glitter is a bit less obvious, the light glints off of it just right. Pair it with:

• Black Magic - Fantasy Makers
• OMB - Nicole by OPI
• LilyChrome - Revlon
• Designer De-Better - OPI's Muppets
• Wocka Wocka - OPI's Muppets
• San Francisco - Sinful Colors
• Swimsuit... Nailed It! - OPI's Miss Universe
• Steady as She Rose - OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides

Rainbow Connection - How beautiful is this? It is a multi-colored glitter with both small round an larger hexagoal glitters in all of the colors. I bought this specifically for New Year's as it reminds me of the fireworks and also of the ball dropping in Times Square. This is a very hard polish to match with a color underneath so I suggest keeping it dark and neutral like the Black Magic pictured above. That way, each and every color pops and none of them get lost in the shuffle.

Excuse Moi - This is the only glitter polish that you do not have to layer over a solid color. Instead of a clear gel, you have the nice light, bright pink that you see above. The other thing that makes this pink individual is that in addition to the pink and silver glitter, you have flecks of gold and green. Out of all of the Miss Piggy inspired colors, I think this sums her up in a single polish. That's not to say I don't like the others but I can definitively see that this is Miss Piggy on first glance. The first coat was easy to work with and this is the first time I can say I love a pink like this.

To sum everything up:
Pros - You can see where the majority of the colors take from their inspirations. I would have switched around a couple of names but that has nothing to do with my love of the colors. These colors for the most part would also be amazing for that holiday party that you go to but also there are plenty of classic colors that you can get away with wearing everyday. My favorites are:

• Wocka Wocka
• Excuse Moi
• Fresh Frog of Bel Air
• Warm and Fozzie

Cons - One of the colors doesn't even show its glitter finish and the color itself is quite dark for fingers. Not too many points off for this but it's something that hit me when trying these out.

Would I buy again?  Yes.



Critical Hit - Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick - Persian Melon

Okay, so some of you may know that I have been looking around for the perfect pink lipstick for me. I've tried some bubble gum pinks but they were all a smidge too bright and not in the right way. They were too cool toned and only good for night time or low light situations. Some of you may also know that I have been obsessed with ABC's new show Pan Am and have been researching the uniform and requirements.

Through my research I found out that the lipstick color they wear on the show is Revlon's Persian Melon so I thought I would go out and try some.

 I have to say that I was pleased with the result. So pleased that I have added it to my list of Critical Hits (more commonly known as Holy Grail products). I think what I love about this is that it allows for brightness but it enhances my natural lips which are highly pigmented as it is. On the other hand, if I am going out for the evening, I can build the color even brighter for those low light times or when I am clubbing.

Indoors with no flash

I've found that when I am wearing red lipstick, I tend to go for the cooler toned (Russian Red from MAC is still my fave) but with pinks, I've liked the warmer toned (Persian Melon).

Has anyone else noticed this with themselves?

Catch Up: Shiro Cosmetics

So I am finally starting to spread my wings ad try some other companies. I recently bought 3 full-size jars and 23 sample baggies from Caitlin of Shiro Cosmetics.

First of all, I was very surprised to find 2 extra sample baggies in BOTH of my orders. This floored me because I don't usually expect something like this with sample only orders. As far as packaging, my orders came in organza bags. My full-size order came with two delicious pieces of candy. A nice little extra. The green tea candy was delish.

Shiro Cosmetics has a Mix n' Match offer where depending on how many you order, you'll get a tiered discount. Since I got at least 20 samples, they came out to abut 85 cents per color. Even less when you consider the two extra samples she threw in. :) Shipping was prompt and Caitlin was very friendly in all communication.

My sample of Majora's Mask to show just how much product is in a baggie.

My swatches are divided for the most part by color family. All swatch photos were taken without flash in natural indoor light. First up, we have the greens.

L to R: Acid, Bulbasaur, Rupee, Kokiri Forest, and Link

 I think these are some of my favorite greens that I've seen yet. Most of the ones I got were sheer and glittery which I like for colors that can be strong.

Acid is a bright chartreuse green. Something I wouldn't have bought at first but I am getting used to taking risks. I think this would be amazing blended in with a yellow such as Pikachu or even used in tandem with Bulbasaur. The color seemed a bit deeper in the center and lighter around the edges. That would probably be my only complaint is that the color itself didn't apply evenly.

Bulbasaur is very true to the color of its namesake like all of the colors named after Pokemon. I would probably describe this almost as a lettuce green. It also matches the organza bag my samples came in perfectly. This one is more sheer than Acid and this works to its advantage.

Rupee is a sheer yellow green, similar to Acid however the application is even lighter.

Kokiri Forest is a neutral olive-y green. I love this and this is being added to my arsenal for work. I might even line it with Link.

Link is a deep green to match its namesake's tunic. This will more than likely be just a liner color for me as it's a deep matte but that's not a bad thing at all. It's very smooth and perfect for wet application.

Overall, these are some great colors. Acid seems just a little chalky and the color seems deeper at the center of the application than at the edges but I may need to work with it and get used to it a little more.

L to R: Spiritomb, Rattata, Reverse Psychology, Majora's Mask

 Spiritomb is as ethereal as it's ghost Pokemon namesake. It reminds me of the cloud that makes up Spiritomb's body and only adds a little bit of color. Another great color for daily wear as it's not too overwhelming.

Rattata is a deep warm purple that also matches the fur of the cute yet common rat Pokemon that annoyed me endlessly in the original game with how common it was. This color is nowhere near as annoying though. It's purple enough that it won't just look like a bruise but still warm. I will probably experiment with this as a liner as well.


Reverse Psychology is from the Portal inspired Science collection. Very pale, almost pure silver and a great way to add that glitter.

Majora's Mask is vibrant but more on the cool spectrum of purple. It's more matte and it really reminds me of Geek Chic Cosmetic's What's Under the Helmet? I will probably do a comparison swatch soon but that was my first impression at least.

L to R: Squirtle, Gyarados, Emancipation Grid, A Neat Gun, Oshus, Veran

 I have to say that the vibrant blues definitely caught my eye and that's part of the reason why I have so many.

Squirtle evokes the look and feel of shimmering water. Matching the main coloration of my second favorite starter Pokemon.

Gyarados, well who knew that Magikarp would evolve into such awesomness? The same goes for this vibrant blue shadow. Although it will be relegated to use as a liner, I'm thinking it may need blending with Blue Box from A'dor Beauty Supplies to see how they look together.

Emancipation Grid is a sheer blue with tons of glitter. Usually this grid means you lose any items you had in the previous room, but I think of more positives with this color than negatives.

A Neat Gun is what I would call the perfect Portal blue. It's a light shimmery blue with orange glitter in it. That's the exact opposite of Thinking With Portals which I will be writing about in a moment. I am hoping to do a gijinka GLaDOS costume and this will be an integral part of my look.

Oshus is a deep blue with gold sparks in it. Fitting of the Ocean King from Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. It also makes me think of one of the spirits as well that has a blue tinge to it.

Veran is a deep navy blue. It reminds me of Solid Snake from Geek Chic but there are some very obvious differences. Solid Snake has a lot more glitter than Veran. This was one of the extra samples I got from Caitlin and it will be used as a liner.

L to R: Subrosia, Master Sword, Brock the Rock, Boomerang, Small Key, Vulpix

 I went for a lot of browns in the hopes that I could find at least one color that I could wear to work and silently show my geekdom. I definitely found at least three colors.

Subrosia is a deep reddish brown with red glitter. Not my first choice in colors but I've been pleasantly surprised and I think this would make a great rusty liner or accent color. This was another one of the extra samples I received with my order.

Master Sword is an amazing highlight color. The gold is very pale and it's something that blends really well with my skintone. It's added to my holy grail products for neutral eye shadows.

Brock the Rock  is another extra sample and I am so happy it was included. I think this would make a great alternative to Everything is Bears which has both gold and red glitter in it and may overwhelm some people.

Boomerang is more of an orange toned gold. A great metallic and not a shade of gold that you see very often.

Small Key is more of a typical shade of gold. Nothing really stood out to me for this.

Vulpix a deep copper which is one of my go to shades. I want to use this as a metallic liner.

L to R: Thinking With Portals, Charmander, Pikachu

 Thinking With Portals as I mentioned before is the opposite of A Neat Gun. This is an orange base with a blue shift. Both of the colors are nice and sheer and are perfect for any fan of Chell or even GLaDOS.

Charmander is slightly deeper and a little more matte orange. A great highlight color.

Pikachu is a yellow with red glitter. The thing I like about Shiro's eye shadows is that the glitter is so small, you can usually spot the different colors but it's not overwhelming by any means. I got this eye shadow to use as part of my gijinka Pichu cosplay.

L to R: Porygon, Mew, Clefairy

 Porygon surprised me. It's the deepest of all the pinks but still somewhat sheer. I have to be careful with this though or I could look sleepy.

Mew is exactly what I want in a pink. It's shimmery and sheer, and plenty of glitter.

Clefairy takes the sheerness one step futher. Suitable for both cheeks and eyes more than likely as it will add just a small amount of blush to the cheeks.

Articuno

Articuno was a color that I didn't have others from Shiro to really compare it to. It is a pure silver and I'll probably compare it to some other silvers side by side so I can get a better idea of what may or may not make it different. A great highlight color and very smooth.

Final Verdict:
Would I order this again? Absolutely. Both full size jars and samples are great deals. I am looking forward to trying some of her lippies as well. The price point is amazing especially if you take advantage of her Mix and Match sets like I did with the samples. She also generously packs both the jars and the baggies. My only tiny complaint is that in my full size jar of Pikachu the product was so packed in the jar that it wouldn't come through the sifter so I had to remove it and loosen the eye shadow and then put it back. A very solid showing.

Review: Linnaeus Cosmetics - Axolotl Collection

So recently I found out I won a giveaway over at Toxid Lotus for Linnaeus Cosmetics' Axolotl collection. I was beyond ecstatic because I've been wanting to give Linnaeus a try and also two out of the three colors are ones that I don't have anything even remotely similar in my collection. I had originally shied away from pinks but as you'll see soon, I love these.

Unfortunately, I was a dolt and forgot to take pictures of the packaging but it was simple and something that I would expect from a company that uses wildlife as inspiration. It came in a canvas drawstring pouch with a rabbit stamped on it. It was also tied with natural raffia and had a little MOO card with all of the company info on it. I detached the raffia and put the card on the drawstring so that when I show it off, the information is right there.

From L to R in natural light: Puerile, Branchial, Archetypal

Puerile - This is the lightest of the colors. The website says:

The name of this eyeshadow references the perpetual immature state of the Axolotl; they do not developmentally advance as far as most salamanders. Puerile is a delicate, pink rose shade. It has a hint of a warm yellow-toned background that is overlain flecks of white and pink.

Puerile is a shade that is sheer and light. The main shade that is great to wear alone for everyday or pair it with one of the other colors for a little more depth. It also makes a wonderful highlight color. I agree that it has a bit more of a yellow undertone which is why it goes great with both the cooler Branchial as well as the warmer Archetypal. The formulation is very smooth and light which surprised me in a good way. I had very little fall out over Too Faced Shadow Insurance as well.

L to R with Flash: Puerile, Branchial, Archetypal

Branchial -

“Branchial” is used to describe the gill filaments in vertebrate anatomy. This became the name of this particular eyeshadow because Axolotls keeps their gills their entire life, unlike other salamanders. Branchial leans a bit toward a brick red; it has orange undertones to it. It has a cardinal red shimmer with flecks of deep pink sparkle throughout.

This description was a smidge off to me. Especially when placed next to Archetypal Branchial seems to be on the cooler side of the spectrum. The photos on Linnaeus' website were very true to what I received though which surprised me. For a moment, I thought this description was for Archetypal and I had to double check. Despite this, I like using this color on the top half of my lid over Puerile. It deepens it just a little bit and works as a great in-between color for when I am layering all three. Yet again, a smooth application with little fall out.

Archetypal -

Archetypal is a maroon based red with a gorgeous, subtle sheen. There are glints of dark and light pink dusted over top. This shade was coined Archetypal due to the fact that unfortunately, Axolotls are excellent model organisms in research. This means that they are ideal to study because among other reasons, they have a relatively well understood development pattern and also have the ability to regenerate limbs.

Hmmm... I'm not sure I would have picked out maroon as the base for this. It looks a lot more toward the coral/copper end of the spectrum and actually seems to be a great dupe for the sample of Rockeresque Beauty's Beating Heart which isn't available yet. It's warm, orange-y, and full of glitter. This was the color that I had the most issues with fall out. This wasn't necessarily because of the amount of shadow that ended up on my cheek so much as what little did end up there made my cheek turn copper. Just something to be aware of and keep some makeup remover handy and do this before you apply blush to your cheeks.

Overall, still a very squee worthy set. With the light formulation and sheer, glittery colors this is something that stands apart from most of the other indie products I've tried. Definitely worth taking a look at and I love the inspiration behind the collections. A lot of these colors could possibly be found elsewhere but on the same token if you enjoy conservation and wildlife, these are for you.

Preview: OPI Muppet Holiday Collection

So I checked my e-mail today and I'm on the mailing list for OPI's Press Releases. As soon as I saw this one I knew I *had* to post a preview and some of my first impressions on the pictures they sent me. I am sure that the final product may look immensely different as these are renders.

First up, we have Animal-istic! The OPI press release says:

This wild bright red cannot be tamed!

 This color absolutely fits Animal (pictured to the left) in my mind. In fact, the color of his fur not withstanding, I've always considered red to be a wild color. I grew up watching Muppets Take Manhattan and in that movie, Animal was always chasing after pretty women.


Definitely a color I will be checking out.

Next we have Meep Meep Meep. The company says that Missing out on this fuchsia would make you weep, weep, weep! I'm not sure this color quite embodies the character it was named after to my eyes. However with it being a Winter Holiday collection, I don't think the orange I would have envisioned for Beaker would have worked either. I think the jury is still out on this one until I see the color in the bottle.

Now for Wocka Wocka. Named for Fozzie's post-joke chuckle, I would have expected this to either be a pink like the spots on his tie or a tomato red. It was Fozzie who was always getting tomatoes thrown at  him wasn't it? While OPI may be right and this berry will make everything fun an merry this is too dark for my pale skin tone. Especially in Winter.

The popular deep berry makes everything fun and merry!

Wow... Pepe's Purple Passion is deep. I think I also just made sense of the inspiration by saying that. :) Pepe is one of my best loved newer Muppets. Still alas, the color is too deep for me as I am PALE BEYOND GET OUT. However I will look at it in person and revisit my thoughts then.

This deep, decadent shade is the best purple ever, okay!

I decided to lump together the Miss Piggy inspired colors. As she would demand it herself, she would want to be the center of attention and she absolutely is with four distinct polish colors in this collection. I also think these are perfect for Miss Piggy. Each and every one of them reminds me either of her or an outfit she's worn. I've seen her in both hot pink and purple and her lipstick is red.

From L to R:

Designer, de Better! - And this light metallic bronze is ready for the runway.

Excuse Moi! - Ahem! This pink glitter has something to say!
Divine Swine - The finest, most fabulous magenta glitter ever. 

Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It! - Red glittery fun for everyone!

Warm and Fozzie is more my kind of color and it reminds me a lot more of the character who inspired it. It's a metallic copper which the company describes as A feel-good shade of metallic copper.

Where would we be if there wasn't a Gonzo inspired shade of blue? A little lighter than expected but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Also, I love any and all glitter colors. This is something I would more than likely pick up for casual day to day with jeans. The company describes this as Gone Gonzo! - The aqua-blue glitter is taking over the world! I kind of hope it does so we can see more colors like this one.

As Kermit once said, It's Not Easy Bein' Green. However the Fresh Frog of Bel-Air is a color that I will not miss. A glitter that prefers the greener things in life. Something new to me, at least, and while I've seen lime green in other sets, I don't think I've seen one with glitter quite like this.

All in all, I want to say that since I am judging this in a press release, I am in no way passing final judgement and will more than likely be publishing a proper review this November when the set is released. It is definitely something I am looking forward to however.

EOTD: Codex, the Healer

Do you know anyone addicted to an MMO? Are you that person? Either way, the hijinx of The Guild is for you. This wacky webseries follows the misadventures of members in an in-game guild as they band together in real life.

This EotD was inspired by the guild healer, Codex, as played by Felicia Day. While the colors aren't an exact match, I feel that it captures the feel of the character as well as accenting the eye in just the right way.

For the color on my eyes, I used the above trio, Spoiled Brat by Wet n' Wild. As always I primed my eyes with Too Face Shadow Insurance as well.

First, after priming my eyes, I patted the browbone color, which is a shimmery silver on the inside half of my eyelid. I didn't go too far up my browbone because I am doing half and half color. I also applied some of the silver on my lower lash line.

Then, I took the eyelid color, which is the bright deep pink and patted it on the other half. You don't want to blend the main pink too much or else it will fade the color and it may look more like an irritation than an awesome color. I blended by just patting a small amount of the silver over the middle line.

Then, I took a small brush and the sparkly black crease color and lined my lash line with it to give it a little bit of that smoky look.

The look was finished off with MAC False Lashes mascara on the upper lash line.

These photos taken in natural light. I will have photos with flash ASAP.