Please don't TEAL my credit card number...

My hair is looking shaggy and brassy so I've *cleverly* cropped it out of the photos! :-P

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting

So, it finally happened.  After years of shopping online with abandon at innumerable retailers, somebody finally hacked my information and made fraudulent charges on my credit card.
I feel so violated!
It is a small comfort to know I likely will not be held liable, and I know other people that have been victims of this kind of fraud.
To cheer myself up, I've done a colorful EOTD!  It's been a while since I reached for colors this vibrant :-D Works a charm <3

Method: Too Faced Shadow Insurance is my base all over, followed by the champagne shade (rehab, fourth from left) on the inner third of the lid applied with a flat eye shadow brush.  Next I applied the purple-tinged blue (bellbottom, second from right) to the outer 2/3 of just the lid with the flat brush, avoiding the crease to tame the bright blues for daytime.  Using just the side of the flat eye shadow brush, I carefully traced the turquoise (peggy, fourth from right) into the crease and outer v, being careful not to take it up too high (for this look, I'm sort of sneaking blue eyeshadows into my office by hiding them in the crease only to be seen when I close my eyes).  This makes for a harsh line, which I softened by using the slanted blending/crease brush with the champagne color (rehab) around the turquoise and up on the browbone as highlight.  Lastly, I used the pencil brush in the teal color (bukowski, third from right) to line the outer 2/3 of my lower lashline, used a white pencil on the waterline, and applied mascara to top and bottom lashes.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara in Black, Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara 1 (decent mascara, but not really worth the $30 price tag, in my opinion), Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Liner in White, Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Angeles, EcoTools flat eyeshadow brush (great for concentrating color, can be used to apply concealer), pencil brush, slanted crease brush

100 Followers and...

A huge "Thank you!" is in order to all of the gorgeous ladies who are following me!  I really appreciate it and I'll be holding a Thanksgiving Giveaway to celebrate. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for details, but here is a preview:

I'm so excited to get to play Makeup Fairy again! In fact, that's sort of my look for tonight:

TFSI, Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense in Khaki Pulse on lids, champagne color from Maybelline Eye Studio quad in Strut it Suede from crease to brow, Benefit High Beam on browbone, Urban Decay 24/7 eye liner in Radium on lower waterline, Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Mysterious Maven Kit lashes only, Duo clear waterproof lash glue, no mascara!

Tank and bandage skirt - Forever 21 $3 and $6
Sweater - Kohl's $6
Boots - Alloy $15
Spending nearly no money on clothes so you can spend more on makeup - priceless :-P

Lust Red EOTD: Is the Hype Around Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense Eyeshadow to be believed?

Hi again, gals. I recently bought two Eyes to Kill Intense shadows by Giorgio Armani ($32 each retail, but they were 15% off with a promo code).  I had been lusting after them for months, poring over internet swatches and comparing their reviews on temptalia.com to help me choose colors... and I wound up choosing Lust Red and Khaki Pulse (not to be worn together, mind you!).

They're both creamy to the touch and swatch pigmented and gorgeous whether wet or dry, but I just can't settle my ambivalent feelings about them when I try them on my eyes:

In all of these photos, I'm wearing only Lust Red, without a primer, and applied dry (plus BADgal black mascara from Benefit).
Pro: the little red sparkles do come through, and this is clearly a black shadow, although,
Con: it is definitely a smokey black and not a true, deep black.  I'd like to try it over NYX Black Bean Jumbo Pencil in the future to see if I can get it to go deeper.
Pro: they last without primer and don't crease (some have called these cream shadows but I swear they're powder!)
Con: I experienced fallout whether I patted it on with a brush or my finger.
Pro: can be used wet or dry with a liner brush to make a smokey line
Con: even with a wet brush I couldn't get rid of the smokey, blurred-out effect and make a precise line like a glitter pencil, gel or liquid liner. It's just not as versatile as I'd hoped.
Pro: I think I like this vampy EOTD, but
Con: I tried to use this in my crease only with another look and it didn't blend as well as I had hoped. It performed "Just Okay" and nobody wants to pay that much for a color that performs so-so.

While this color is beautiful when swatched and the quality is not disputable, I have to confess I don't see why the hype is so big with these $32 eyeshadows.
I own all the 88 palettes made by Coastal Scents and my next order of business is to find a dupe. While the texture won't be creamy, I know, I think I could find a smokey black with red micro-glitters that isn't as flawed as MAC Beauty Marked and isn't so pricey (come to think of it, these pictures are reminding me of layering the gray and purple in the MAC Mineralize duo in Earthly Riches, too, but the look is only similar and not a dupe).
Update: There is also a new NARS Arabian Nights Palette with a similar shade (plus two others) for $45. Even though Chistine at Temptalia says the black with silver sparkles sucks, it's still NARS and it's still a better deal than the ETK shadows...

Don't get me wrong, I do like them.  I just don't think they're something to rave about if considering the full retail price (maybe $20 would be more appropriate?).  I really don't think they're must-haves or that you're missing out if you don't buy them.