Blue Mascara!

Grad school really can do a number on one's face. This morning I wanted a pop of color to wake up my eyes, and decided to finally reach for Maybelline's Great Lash in Royal Blue

 

If you have been following this blog, you know that I AM NOT a fan of Great Lash. But for colored mascaras? It is surprisingly good. Colored mascaras are dramatic on their own, so you don't really need a ton of volume or it would be overkill. The slightly watery formula of Great Lash and small brush also give you precision with colored formulas.

 

 

This is a little bit brighter than what I would classify as Royal Blue. But that is good! If I am buying a colored mascara, I want to see it!

 

 

Lovely shade. I've also heard that you can use colored mascara as temporary hair streakers. Maybe I will try it! It certainly is bright enough! And only $6!!

 

 

This is a really pretty accent, and I kept the rest of my makeup minimal. But look how bright it makes my eyes look? For once, I am digging Great Lash! Who would have thought?

 

Final Thoughts: For a night out or to shake up your routine, try this bright blue if you dare! The normally disappointing Great Lash formula works wonders for color!

 

 

Price: 9/10

Staying Power: 8/10

Packaging: 10/10

Color/Wearability: 8/10

Quality/Branding: 9/10

 

Total: 44/50 = B+ = Happy Panda!

 

Do you wear colored mascaras? Which ones are your favorites?

 

xoxo PrettyPanda

Julep October Box!

Hey everyone! More polish, hope you don't mind :)

I am a member of Julep, the nail polish box monthly subscription. I have tried Birchbox and hated it, but I do find that getting three full sized polishes every month is well worth the $20 bucks I spend, considering these babies are $14 on Sephora.com.

This month, I added another polish to my shipment for only $4. So I got 4 polishes for $24!! Crazy right?

 

These are the two 'crackle' polishes. The silver is called Glenda, and the white (my add on) is called Hermione. I had to get it for the name alone, obviously!

 

 

This pretty blackened crimson is called Caroline. I also received a sparkly black called Leslie (not pictured)

 

 

Here is Hermione over Leslie. Pretty! I love how opaque Hermione is!

 

 

Here are both Hermione and Glenda alternating as topcoats over Caroline. I love the Julep crackles. They are easy to use and not too thick.

 

Final Thoughts: Super happy with this months' box, I would recommend all of them! Julep polishes last well on me and I love the bottle shape as well!

 

xoxo PrettyPanda



L'ORÉAL Color Riche Caress in Cotton Pink

I am a sucker for great advertising. I checked out L'ORÉAL's Color Riche Caresse collection because it promises "a wearable and gentle caress of color". I also needed a pink lip color, since I realized I was really lacking in the light pink department. Enter Cotton Pink!

 

I love the packaging! So classy, but it better be for $9.99. The price is one of the reasons I usually stay away from drugstore lipsticks like this. I am always afraid they will disappoint.

 

 

This is a thinner lipstick and there isn't a ton of product, but the lovely gold tube is a consolation. I also am a fan of the strawberry-esque smell of the lipstick.

 

 

I think I will feel very glamorous using it...but now to the color!

 

 

This is a paler pink with blue undertones, and yet it still has a punchy pop to it that makes it a little more fun and girly.

 

 

This is nicely moisturizing and really does feel like a little hint of color, almost like a colored balm. I am happy with the color and it feel weightless on my lips, however that means it only lasts about an hour and a half.

 

Final Thoughts: They have a good shade range, so if you aren't partial to the heaviness of lipstick, try these out!

 

Price: 7/10

Staying Power:7/10

Packaging: 10/10

Color/Wearability: 10/10

Quality/Branding: 9/10

 

 

Total: 43/50 = B = Pleased Panda

 

Do you like the Caress line? Tried it? Love it or leave it?

 

xoxo PrettyPanda

Depression Awareness Mani

Hello PrettyPanda readers!

Some of you may know, or may have seen on other blogs that it is Depression Awareness month and a lot of bloggers are doing manicures in the official color of Depression Awareness: Green!

I wanted to do one as well, and I kept mine simple. Depression is something that I deal with everyday. I have been diagnosed with moderate depression and anxiety and it is a hard struggle. Know that you aren't alone and never give up!

 

I just happened to have a new green in my stash! This is Butter London's British Racing Green!

 

 

This is a creamy dark green, with the tiniest shimmer of tonal green glitter. But I mean tiny!

 

 

I love that this looks sophisticated and is a simple twist on black nails. It is still a dark enough color to be chic, but I know when I look at my nails I will be reminded of my fight with depression and how strong I am!

 

 

One coat of this is pretty streaky, but two evened everything right out. The formula on these is nice, not too thin or thick and Butter's last around 5 days on me with a good topcoat.

 

This nail polish is absolutely Panda Approved!

 

Take out a green from your stash and do your own Depression Awareness Mani!! I'd love to see it!

 

xoxo PrettyPanda

 



Velvet Voyeur

I kinda have a thing for nail polish names. Don't we all? I couldn't NOT buy this polish, I just thought they name was so sexy haha.

Introducing my pick for Fall 2012's Sexiest Polish: Essie's Velvet Voyeur

 

A deep reddish purple that looks black in some lights is the perfect remix to a black creme. It is sexy and femme fatale while also being unexpected.

 

 

I picked up this Essie from Ulta for around $8. Essie polishes are great, and I love the brush. I got a full 6 days of wear from this polish. (2 coats)

 

 

Some not so discerning eyes (my brother) thought my polish was black...but I can tell, can't you??

 

Final Thoughts: My pick for vampiest polish this winter!

 

Price: 8/10

Staying Power: 9/10

Packaging: 9/10

Color/Wearability: 10/10

Quality/Branding: 9/10

Total: 45/50= A- = Happy Panda!

 

I love vampy nails, do you?

 

xox PrettyPanda

Urban Decay's Vice Palette

SO excited to show you guys my new goodie!

I originally thought that after the whole animal testing debacle that I would not buy from UD again, but they finally made the right move and I spent $57 hard earned dollars on this brand new 20 color palette with ONLY new and exclusive colors.

Was it worth it? Let's find out!

 

The case is really pretty, slightly soft to the touch with a nice crystal inlay. It opens easily and has a full sized mirror.

 

 

I love that it opens with one touch and you can see all of the pretty colors at a glance. It also includes their coveted double-sided shadow brush.

 

 

Ahh it's so gorgeous!

 

 

Anyway, enough packaging pics...let's move on shall we?

 

 

 

The brush is really good quality. One side is a shadow brush and the other a blender, with a logo purple chrome handle.

 

Click after the jump to see the swatches!

 

ORLY Flicker: Perfect October Orange

Hey everyone!!

Sorry for my long absence! I have been really busy settling down in my grad school life (phew!) but I am back now and ready to blog with some fun products for Fall and Winter. Yay!

 

As you can probably tell, I am big on nail polish, and I do not have many orange polishes in my current collection.

 

Orly recently released a Fall collection and I decided to add the pretty red-orange 'Flicker' to my stash for $8.

 

This is a shiny, metallic, slightly duochrome polish that looks just like a flickering flame!

 

 

Two coats and this baby has a lot of depth and looks great for Halloween time!

 

 

This lasted about 5 days with minor tip wear and looks good as a base for black glitter as well!

 

 

Overall Thoughts: A great wearable orange just in time for All-Hallows-Eve!

 

Price: 8/10

Staying Power: 8.5/10

Packaging: 10/10

Color/Wearability: 10/10

Quality/Branding: 9/10

 

Total: 45.5/50 = A- = Happy Panda!

 

Do you guys have any of the other ORLY Fall polishes? I thought they were all so pretty!

 

xoxo PrettyPanda

Benefit High Beam: Quick Review and Swatches

Hey Pandas!

Benefit High Beam is a product I am sure many of you have heard about/tried. I recently tried it ( I know, it is crazy) but I prefer not to jump on things that become 'cult' too quickly. They have me skeptical.

High Beam is a luminous, pink and pearlized. It retails for $26 at Sephora for a pretty decent/large size.

This is a large squirt on my hand, not sheered out. At first I was a little scared, this is baby pink and sparkly! I am already not a fan of overly-sparkly facial things, so I couldn't imagine this on my face.

Sheered out, it is much more wearable. On my face, I only use it on my cheeks when going out for a nice glow. Other than that I find it too much for day-wear. I find it doesn't make me oily or anything and lasts all day.

This product is panda-approved, but as a luminizer only. I don't buy into claims that people use this as an overall face enhancer or primer. Too much sparkle!

But hey, if that is your thing, don't let me stop you! Have you used High Beam? Thoughts?

xo PrettyPanda

Hello Flawless!

Hola!

I was recently given a sample of Benefit's Hello Flawless Foundation Powder in 'Petal' to try out.

The biggie version retails for $34, which is around the same price as any highish-end foundation these days.

Petal is a light beige color with neutral undertones. It goes well with my very pale skin. This also has an spf of 15 in it, but I would still use a regular sunscreen under it.

I purposefully caked a lot of this on so you could see the color, because when blended in, it really does appear 'flawless'. This is a creamy powder, so it feels more like a traditional foundation on the skin.

Here is the product fully blended onto my hand. For me, this looked cakey on my face. It had great coverage but I wasn't comfortable with how it settled into my tiny lines.

This is a great product and I think many will like it. There is a decent shade range, especially for pale girls (which is a hard thing to find sometimes) but I feel like this just sits on my skin. Not for me. I wish it was because the color match is great.

Final Thoughts: Proceed with caution if you do not like your foundation settling into fine lines after a while.

Price: 8/10
Staying Power: 8/10
Packaging: 10/10
Color/Wearability: 9/10
Quality/Branding: 9/10

Total: 44/50 = B+ = Pleased Panda (Color-wise, but not overall)

Have you tried this? Love it? Hate it?

xo PrettyPanda