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.



FotD: We're the Misfits, Our Songs are Better!

 Okay so on my post yesterday, a reader (Alison) requested that I do a look using Shiro Cosmetics' Rattata. Being that it's October, I thought I would do a long overdue Misfits inspired look and I chose lead singer Pizzazz. To me, she always stood out with her bright lime green hair and the purple makeup so I played up those parts.

Face:

• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
• Laura Mercier SPF 20 Tinted Moisturizer

Eyes:

• Shiro Cosmetic's Acid - inner half of the lid
• Shiro Cosmetic's Rattata - outer half of lid
• Geek Chic Cosmetic's Madness Takes Its Toll - Crease
• Maybelline Falsies Flared - Blackest Black

Lips:

• Geek Chic Cosmetic's Geek Gloss - Happy Ending
• Another alternative if this is for costume or you want something more dramatic - Geek Chic Cosmetic's Joystick - Back to the Fuschia

Cheeks:

• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Touch Me

Catch Up: Big Geek Chic Review Post

So I recently got a big order from Geek Chic Cosmetics and I wanted to do a huge swatch post. Some of these swatches are comparing similar color families and include previous purchases as I wanted to show the differences between certain colors and just why they ARE worth getting.

L to R: What's Under the Helmet? (N7), Game Over (Mushroom Kingdom), Fear Bomb (10 Man Raid), and Ambassador (Big Damn Heroes)

First up are the purples. I've been obsessed with trying this color due to it being great for parties and nights out. I also have interesting eyes because even though I was raised thinking I had plain brown eyes, I actually have a little bit of my dad's hazel eyes. Purple tends to bring out the green in them which is something I love. I can really play with some color theory and how eye shadow changes the color of me eyes.

The new colors I got in this order were:

• Fear Bomb
• Ambassador

Fear Bomb from the 10 Man Raid set is something I've been eyeing for a long time. It's on the cooler side of purple which I find is something that suits me quite a bit better. One thing about warmer purples is that a lot of the time, they make your eyes look bruised and tired and that's not a good thing at all. Cooler purples are a bit easier to manipulate and place on the lid in such a way that it actually enhances your eyes. Fear Bomb is slightly sheer as well. It's in between the dark intense What's Under the Helmet? and the ultra-sheer Game Over.

Ambassador falls into that tricky warm purple family. It's no fault of the company and I fell in love with this color almost immediately. It's a pink toned purple with gold glittery highlights in it. I think with a bit of eyeliner this would work out and I feel like that would be an amazing Inara/Companion look.

L to R: Inevitable Betrayal (Big Damn Heroes), Twilight Princess (Hyrule), Riddle Me This (Single Player)

New greens to my collection:

• Inevitable Betrayal
• Twilight Princess
• Riddle Me This

Inevitable Betrayal is another color that I've been eyeing for a long time. I'd describe it as an olive green. It's precisely what I think of when I think of dinosaurs which were an important part of this scene where we first met Wash in Firefly. This is more than likely going to be one of my go to colors for when I start work. I need to keep my makeup somewhat neutral but I think this has enough color to satiate my artistic side without being too distracting.

Twilight Princess was a color that I originally thought I would just use as a liner because it looked so dark in the swatches but when I got it, I couldn't help but try it out for religious services. It's more a green toned grey in my opinion which went quite well with my grey outfit. I had lined it with Solid Snake from the Single Player set and put Inevitable Betrayal in the crease. This one is more for evening or formal but a color not to be dismissed.

Riddle Me This is Phil's first try at making a color and I love the green tone with purple glitter. I think this is more of a weekend color than anything else but the green is sheer enough to use as an accent color. Something I was pleasantly surprised to find out. :) Kudos to Phil for this wonderful addition to Geek Chic's Single Player line up.

This next swatch is one that I didn't have a similar color family to from Geek Chic so I decided to swatch it with blues from two other companies who's reviews are forthcoming.

L to R: Blue Your Mind (Pollen Cosmetics), Blue Box (A'dor Beauty Supplies), Solid Snake (Geek Chic's Single Player collection)

Solid Snake is the only new Geek Chic color in this set of swatches and it's one that to date I have only used as a liner. I've been a fan of dark blue liners for a while and this one adds a little sparkle to the classic dark blue almost black liner.

Now for something which I had yet to buy at any point in time... Lippies.

Hipster Ariel

Hipster Ariel  is part of the Joysticks collection and probably the only one that the flavoring was obvious. I love Spearmint so that's not a bad thing at all. I had originally gotten this for LARP (live-action role play for the uninitiated) and I LOVE it. The coverage is great and the new slimline tubes are perfect for my tiny lips. Coverage is usually an issue because I have highly pigmented lips.

Electric Rat

Okay so I got Electric Rat because it was the perfect finish to a last minute gijinka Pichu costume I made. The costume was a hit at MatsuriCon but I wanted to add the touches of makeup to just push it further over the top and I think I've found it. Another lipstick with great coverage although the flavoring of fall spices and "Seduction" wasn't apparent in this one.

Mana Potion Geek Gloss

I wasn't sure quite what to think of Mana Potion but it's another one I got for Halloween/LARP. It's a sheer sky blue which makes it even more than just a sheer version of Hipster Ariel. Perfect for the Snow Queen or anyone who needs blue lips. ;) Due to their gloss nature they aren't as full coverage as the Joysticks but the blue of this still shows up brightly.

The Darkness Geek Gloss

The Darkness is another one for LARP but I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well it works for everyday. The gunmetal grey base mixes well with my lip pigmentation but also adds a dark silvery sparkle. Probably my newest holy grail product.

The geek glosses are a little sticky but it feels good, like it's protecting my lips and when I take it off, my lips are very soft.

Joystick (top) and Geek Gloss (bottom 2) packaging

Would I buy lippies again? In a heartbeat... In fact, I am currently waiting on Back to the Fuschia, Sweet Transvestite, and Happy Ending in my next shipment. I will be sure to swatch those for you and you can expect some reviews coming soon. As for the eye shadows, I'm almost always floored and these colors were ones that I had been dying to get. I was especially surprised when Twilight Princess turned out to be more than just a liner color for me.

Pony Beads... Not Just for Kids Anymore?

Thanks to the rave community crossing over with the anime community, I have found a new hobby. Making kandi cuff bracelets. Pictured above, you'll see my Barfleet cuff which took about 210 beads and 6 hours to make. The martini glass also glows. I've made a Pokeball patterned cuff but unfortunately, I don't have pictures available. >.>

Haul: Bath and Body Works

And when I mean haul, I mean haul. It's true that none of these are full size products but the circumstance under how I was able to get them, IMO deems it a haul. My mom and I walked into the Bath and Body Works store near to our house to get some home fragrance items. It turns out that representatives from the corporate office were there testing some ideas for the packaging for the Spring 2012 line of anti-bacterial soaps. If you participated, you got a $10 gift card. I decided to spend mine immediately and give you a preview of a few reviews that are coming up soon.

First of all, do you remember when I reviewed three awesome geek inspired PocketBacs? I finally was able to complete my collection today with the Starfruit scented Seriously??? and the Coconut scented Friend Me! I knew ever since I laid eyes on that collection that all five would be mine and here we are. I will have a full review up later this week as there are some things better brought up in the review. *tease*

It's that time of year! Time for wonderful vanilla and pumpkin scented awesomeness. Cinnamon, Pumpkin, and Vanilla are three of my favorite fragrances to use and I've got all three in here somehow. The mini-candle is an awesome idea on Bath and Body Works' part as it allows you to be short term with your fragrances and change your mind without totally breaking the bank. I got this candle as part of a Free Mini-Candle with Any $10 Purchase coupon that I got in my e-mail.

And last but not least, Pumpkin Caramel Latte. This definitely has a bit of a vanilla pumpkin smell and although I haven't tried it yet, the buzz is consuming me. It's one of their new Fall fragrances. I don't even think it was there when I was in the store last Friday.

Later this week, I will break things down for you a bit more. I wanted to let you know what I have but at the same time, I need a day or so to try things out and see how they wear on me.

LotD: Bejeweled and Bedazzled

Okay, with all of the buzz lately about Win or Die from Geek Chic Cosmetics, I knew I wanted to experiment with two of the darker colors in the set. These are also the two colors that I received as full sizes from a friend of mine. Across the Narrow Sea and Born in Fire are two amazing jewel tones that go amazingly well together and with a color such as The Imp also in the same set, you really can't go wrong looking like a bejeweled beauty the next time you go out.

I didn't use The Imp in this look but it still remains one of my favorite colors.

Although the focus is on my eyes in this photo, there's a lot more to this look than just the eye color. First I used Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Porcelain from Laura Mercier. It's not too heavy but gives me some of the coverage I need.

For the eyes, I used a multi-layered technique. First, I primed my eyes with Too-Faced Shadow Insurance and then I went over that with the Caviar Creme Eye Colour from Laura Mercier in Amethyst. Over the creme color, which is a warm taupe, I patted Clinique Color Surge Eye Shadow Trio in the base Lilac color over the base to wash out the color a bit. Then, I took Born in Fire from Geek Chic Cosmetics and blended it into the crease. That's the smoky purple that you see on my eyes. Then, I wet my brush and patted Across the Narrow Sea on just a little of the inner corner of my eye and blended it out.

That's it for the colors on the eye. I lined it in Wet n' Wild Mega Liner in black and just slightly winged it up at the outer edge. I tried to make sure that the wing followed my lower lash line. Then I finished with Full Blown Mascara from Laura Mercier in black and as I applied, I brushed my lashes toward the outer edge of my eye.

For my cheeks, I just barely touched my blush brush into Kingslayer from Geek Chic Cosmetics (which is also from the Win or Die set) and tapped it on each cheek and blended. I didn't want too much as that would wash me out a bit. This just added a little bit of warmth and sparkle.

For my lips, I just used a few swipes of Tokidoki Lip Balm Stain in Pink Martini. It enhances my natural lip color to look more pink and it's not as dramatic as straight up hot pink lipstick.

Product List:
For the Face:

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 - Porcelain

For the Eyes:

• Too-Faced Shadow Insurance
• Laura Mercier Caviar Creme Eye Color - Amethyst
• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Born in Fire
• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Across the Narrow Sea
• Wet n' Wild Mega Liner - Black
• Laura Mercier Full Blown Mascara - Black

For the Cheeks:

• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Kingslayer

For the Lips:

• Tokidoki Lip Balm Stain - Pink Martini

Review: Geek Chic Cosmetics - Win or Die (6 out of 8 colors)

Disclosure: The two full size colors I am reviewing were bought for me as a gift by a friend with no affiliation with Geek Chic Cosmetics. The four samples I am reviewing were a prize from winning fan favorite in GCC's Look of the Day contest.

Oh A Song of Ice and Fire, what a history you and I have. Not to say this is a bad thing but some friends of mine have been trying to get me to read the books for about six years. Little did they know all it would take to get me hooked was a single episode with an all-star cast. As soon as I realized Geek Chic Cosmetics was coming out with a Game of Thrones inspired set, I knew most of them had to be mine.

Win or Die, the new set, contains mostly colors with a shimmer and I'm not complaining at all. I tend to wear glittery and shimmery eye shadows regardless so this set is right up my alley in that respect. The colors I received were Across the Narrow Sea, Born in Fire, The Imp, The Pointy End, and Kingslayer. Two full size and four samples respectively.

Since I owe you some Geek Chic swatches from my previous purchase, I have included some that are in similar color families for comparison.

A lush, rich turquoise as deep as the sea at the end of the world. More green than blue, with gleaming seafoam highlight and a glimmer of aqua sparkles. Goes on opaqaue and smooth for even coverage. Can be used wet as an eyeliner. Not lip safe.
I think they got this description spot on. The color does go on opaque and smooth and it only took one or two swipes to get a good, solid color even without primer. I don't own any other turquoise colors like this so I was eager to try it out and I'm very pleased. I can see myself using it for LARP or even for an evening look.

With Flash

In Natural Light

Other than the inspiration, this color makes me think of mermaids, sirens, and other sea creatures of myth and fantasy.

The rich, regal violet of the Targaryens with smokey indigo depths. Silky, with a pearlescent sheen and a scattering of glittering ruby embers. Born in Fire goes on opaque makes for a smoldering smoky eye. It can also be used wet as an eyeliner. Not lip safe.

The swatch looked only slightly brighter than what I got but this was 100% a pleasant surprise. I own three other shades of Geek Chic purple and what I love is that each one of them is unique. You'll see all of them swatched side-by-side below. I think that this would go great paired with Naked Wedding, Game Over, or What's Under the Helmet? equally well although it's on the warmer end of the spectrum with Naked Wedding.

Top to Bottom: Naked Wedding, Game Over, What's Under the Helmet?, and Born in Fire
With Flash



L to R: Naked Wedding, Game Over, What's Under the Helmet?, and Born in Fire
Natural Light

Born in Fire in Jar



An opulent, indulgent gold as rich as a Lannister and overflowing with silver stags, golden dragons and glittering ruby sparkles. As much bling as we could possibly fit into one chest.

Arguably my favorite color of the set. It's more than likely tied with Kingslayer because they both blend together so well and make an amazing glittery yet neutral look. At first, when I swatched it, I couldn't see the red glitter in it or the silver but when I put it on to wear it there it was! An amazing color for Gryffindorks and people who just like gold. Since my pic is blurry however I will warn you that, like the metallics of the Fang Banger's Quartet, The Imp contains metal alloys so be sure to order a sample a test for an allergic reaction before using.

The swatches will be below after my review of Kingslayer so that yuo can compare.

A pearly white cloak of the Kingsguard which shines copper and golden in the light. The Kingslayer is iridescent, as multi-faceted and complex as the man himself. Kingslayer makes for a lovely highlight color and can even be used on the cheeks to add a coppery glow.

My other favorite color of the set. With a pearl base and warm gold and copper glow, this is going to be a go to color for me. I even tried it lightly on my cheeks as suggested and it is amazing. It goes well with The Imp although the other is an outcast of the Lannister clan and both blend amazingly well and have a smooth consistency. It didn't take long for me to build up a nice color even without primer either.

From L to R With Flash: Eyes of the Werewolf, Viking King, Kingslayer, The Imp

L to R in Natural Light: Eyes of the Werewolf, Viking King, Kingslayer, The Imp

A taupe with a real edge to it, The Pointy End is your graduation from practice neutrals. Pearlescent and smooth as summer silk, with a sharp silver glint. The Pointy end makes for a lovely twist on a neutral smoky eye and can be used wet as an eyeliner.

These next two colors were interesting for me. I definitely wanted to try them but I wasn't sure how they'd look on me or how I would work them into my looks. To my great surprise, The Pointy End looks amazing both as a liner and also with Kingslayer for a smokey look. The Pointy End is a bit more cool toned as opposed to warm like Kingslayer or The Imp but a great color nonetheless.

Like a sword hidden beneath the black cloak, Brotherhood of Crows is a dusky black base with a glint of metallic gunmetal. In the light, it shines with a host of subtle silver shimmers. Goes on semi-opaque but is easily built up to full coverage. Can be used wet as an eyeliner.

Another go to color for me, as I play many different flavors of Vampire in the Camarilla Fan Club I see my Sabbat character wearing this quite a bit. She's a femme fatale and sneaky. When I first applied this color it took a bit to build up but I was okay with that. That means I can get a light dusting of gray without it looking like too much. When I used it as liner it was great and smokey. I'm not 100% on what I would pair it with but it's definitely going in my experiment pile.

L to R: The Pointy End and Brotherhood of Crows

L to R: The Pointy End and Brotherhood of Crows

Overall, I am very impressed with this set. So many of the colors, even if they're close to others have a hint of something that makes them special. The Pointy End adds a bit of sparkle to a color that I use often as a liner and The Imp adds a bit of spark to gold with it's red glitter. Although I have to experiment more with some of the colors I can say all of these colors are a must have for the smokey eye shadow connoisseur.

As you can see by how much I've been reviewing Geek Chic, I would absolutely order again and again. When I've put notes on something, I've gotten great suggestions from Chantel and Deb on how to improve my application and help me get the most out of my product. This time, with the sealed jars, I also didn't have as much extra fall out which made me feel a lot better and a lot less messy.

Thank you to Chantel and Deb for holding the Look of the Day contest in the first place and thank you to my friend Jeff Allen for buying the two full size jars. Also thank you to everyone who voted for mt Cortana inspired look.