Birthday look, cake & thoughts. 21 years old now...

So, today's my birthday.

[Well, when I started working on this entry, it was still Saturday, so there :-P. I wasn't lying when I typed that ;D.]

I am now 21, and to be honest I do feel old. One of my brothers is twelve as of the 19th, and I remember myself being twelve. It's really damn scary.

It's not the 'growing old' aspect of it that scares me. It's the change and how time passes, not in relation to me but sort of historically if that even makes sense, how things that I live through will be the next generation's past...

When I get gloomy, I force myself to stop thinking ('brooding' would probably fit better here), so here are my look, cake etc. & am being positive :D.

[I do feel wonderful for making it this far though. Thank you God.]

Face: The usual. Tigi concealer, Tesco foundation, Bourjois mineral powder & contouring powder from that fake YSL kit. And a whole lot of brushes. A foundation brush truly's brilliant to work with.

Eyes: First, a soft wash of NYX Apricot Moose. Over that I applied Sleek Eye Dust in Inferno. I lined my eyes with Too Faced's Ruby Slippers metallic pencil (lovely :D) and used the lighter end of Oriflame's Aladdin & Jasmine duo liner on my waterline. Curled lashes & threw on mascara [Avon SuperSHOCK] too, naturally.

Cheeks: Revlon Leading Lady Blush in Smoky Rose, applied lightly & diffused over the apples. An unusual way of wearing blush for me, but I thought it'd work here.

Lips: Stila It Gloss in Fetching. It is ;).

Here's a smiling pic, because after all this is a birthday post...

And I wish the one below hadn't turned out this blue...But my phone tends to do that.

I'll post the eye close-ups just to illustrate how out of practice I am where those are concerned. Must keep trying then :-P. It's the only way to improve.





Cake:

The tradition of using paper numbers continues ;D. And here it is without them...



Oh, and of course I bought it. I cant't bake (and that's probably fairly apparent, lol XD). Thanks for reading :). Am passing out after I'm done with this - must get some sleep.


P.S. In retrospect, I like my smile from last time :). Maybe I'll like today's photos next year.

IsaDora Blooming Spring swatches ^_^. And some ramblings.

Electric light:

Moderate sunlight:

[Yes, that was a rare day in Greece with little sunlight. I was happy :).]

Taffeta Pink, Mango Fizz and Coral Rose lipsticks, Pinky Peach blush, Eye Brow Lift & Define pencil, eye shadow palette colours, violet liner and Blonde liner. You can see my original post about that collection here ;).
I want the palette now :D, and I'm definitely getting the Blonde pencil ;). The lipsticks are too shimmery for me to like them though :(. And I've just noticed that my MAC Hello Kitty tote is visible in Pic 2 XD.

Now, why had I disappeared off the face of the blogosphere these past few days...

Sometimes I get too pessimistic to communicate with anyone...Well, it's almost passed. I'm back :).
For now >:-D.

Everyone on here has been so incredibly kind to me, but sometimes I wonder. You see, you do know that I consider myself unattractive. Normally I accept it and live with it, it's just that sometimes things happen that rub it in my face and I don't feel like anything is truly worth it.
I don't know how to explain. I don't know whether I should. I don't know why I'm typing this - I'm so harsh about not revealing my physical flaws, and now I'm airing my emotional ones.

I received lots of swapness in the past few days...

Will post everything when I'm feeling better ;D. But here's a sneak peek...

My MEGA swap :D, with love from Watercolour Sale :). I'll need a separate blog post just to cover all of that stuff ;D.

And some more swaps :-P. Including my swap with Claire - she's received mine so I can finally use hers ^_^.

Thanks for reading :). I hope somebody finds those swatches useful XD, and don't mind my negativity, it's just part of me. It'll never change ;).

P.S. I just saw this :). If you could vote for me by leaving a comment there (but only if you think I deserve it, of course ;D), it would really help cheer me up :-P.

Some more New Acquisitions from swaps, various contest info, and lots of random notes.

*I know I was supposed to do a contest look, but I'm really not in the mood. I need motivation to expose my unpretty face >:-). But I'll have a few of these up soon, I promise ^_^!

*I can't wait for this (hoping to get everything), this (I so hope it's true ^_^!) and this :).

*I saw the new Avon quads in the latest Avon e-catalogue ;). Thankfully my fellow Europe residents have access to them now :), and hopefully my Asian readers eventually will too ^_^. Oh, and assuming you have the option of returning them (mine was a gift), which you should do if one shade is as defective as mine >:-), do grab one or two! The working colours are lovely :). Ahem. That's the problem of course, all colours are supposed to work >:-), but never mind XD.

*US readers: If you liked the Too Faced palette that I got with my birthday money ;), you can buy one here :D - and it's really cheap too :-P. And if you're feeling oddly kind, you can buy me the Unicorn one and I'd love to swap with you ^_^! (Lol - hey, it's worth a try XD.)

*UK readers: Blog sale promotion :). I like the green Bourjois, if anyone's feeling kind XD.

*By the way, thanks to all my new followers :). Can't believe that as of now, 72 people consider my blabbing worth reading :-/ :)...It feels great XD!

*Contests! I'm listing them, 'cause I tend to forget about them unless I do that >:-). So, there's the Barbie contest, Cinco de Mayo contest, pin-up contest, and the "Help Me Celebrate My Birthday" contest - come on, you know you want to check that one out XD. And of course, all are international ;).

*I'm done with notes now, thank you >:-). The actual blog post begins here :-P ;D.

I did receive more than these 2 swap lots ;). Including my package from my swap with Claire ^_^! Even though we both blog, we met through Make-Up Alley ;). But, it's not polite to start using one's stuff if it has been received first, so I won't blog about these until the other swappers receive their stuff ;).

Here are the things I can blog about :).

The Bourjois gloss was a GWP ;). I forgot to post a pic of it before >:-), so I did so now ^_^.

Swap 1 [Germany].

(For a Korres foundation I bought her.)

Yes...That is the Fafi pouch :). And brush, of course ;D :-P. My first ever MAC brush ^_^! I hope it's good :-P XD...

And lovely extra stuff :D! 2 lip balms ^_^! That's the famous anti-AIDS pot from The Body Shop :D, and the other one's by a brand called Olivia, which I'd never heard of before, but I've tried that one out (am wearing it now, actually ;D) and it's great :). It feels and looks really glossy. I'm very happy with it :).

Swap 2 [England - not the same swapper who gave me the Sugar palette though!].

(For my Clinique Sugar Sugar eye shadow, Rimmel Maxxx It Up eye shadow, Rimmel Pink Impact shadow stick, some perfume samples, and some extra stuff ;D.)

A Hello Kitty liner ^_^!!!
From H & M >:-). Of course I still hate H & M. But I'll forgive them their lousy clothes and accept this Hello Kitty pencil :-P :). Which by the way has the Sanrio date stuff on it, so I suppose H & M had the first official Hello Kitty make-up line before MAC did ;).

There's also a John Frieda leave-in treatment she threw in :), an Urban Decay gloss (my first ^_^!) in Love Junkie, and a MAC lipstick. There's only around half of it left, but it's Pretty Please - that was a wishlist shade for me ;). I'm happy :).

Swapping is so addictive. I will miss it...I've sent out almost all of my stuff I had for swap, and once I run out of things to swap, I will have to slow down :').

But I still have my blind swap to complete ;D! Collecting things for it, slowly :).

Thanks for reading ^_^! A contest entry will be next ;).

As of today, I will be twenty.

I'm not technically sure whether that phrase is grammatically correct. But it sounds good to me, all rhythmic, so I chose to post it as it is :-P.

So, yes. Today's my birthday :).

Thank you God. Thanks to everyone who has ever supported me. Here's to at least another 20 years :-P ;D.

And here's something for you all ;)...

Yes...I am actually smiling :).

[I told you it doesn't look good on me, and here's proof >:-).]

But I'm still quite happy, which is probably why I look OK enough to feel secure enough to post this ;D. Enjoy :-P. You won't be getting one of these for a long while >:-D.

Make-up: Nothing except Jean by Oriflame (the lipstick I used here) on my lips, except that most of it has faded so it's a sheer reddish stain on there. I'm surprised it has lasted at all - I've had it on since 9 A.M., I had sushi, I had my birthday cake...Should be long gone, it's just a lipstick after all, and not a long-lasting one XD. (I hate those, I much prefer to reapply than to feel like I have glue on my mouth.)

For a beauty blogger (sort of >:-D) and product addict, I do go out bare-faced quite a lot :-P.

My cake:

It's lemon ^_^! Store-bought, of course XD. Yes, it's tiny, but it'll still take me a few days to finish it :-P.

I like the idea of having paper numbers on my cake ;D. It started on my 18th when we were out of candles and I came up with this :-P, but I ended up liking it and have done it ever since ^_^. And of course they're my favourite colour :-P.

With the candle lighted:

That's a singing candle by the way ;). It sings Happy Birthday To You :-P. (Well, just the tune, like a ringtone ;D.)

I hope my wish comes true ^_^!!! (But of course, for that to happen, I can't share it with you :-P.)

Next...Lots and lots and lots of New Acquisitions ;D. Yay ^_^!!!

First of all, here's some stuff I received in the mail ;).

Swapping is wonderful :).

These are all from Make-Up Alley swaps ;). I won't be putting the lovely swappers' names here, but if you'd like to swap with them too & want to know who they are, you can ask me ;D.

Swap 1 [England].

(For my 3 L'Oreal Star Secrets lipsticks in Aishwarya, Laetitia and Claudia, Clinique Bamboo Pink and Maybelline Sugar Plum Ice. And some extras :-P ^_^.)

A Sugar Kaleidoscope palette :D, Essence eye liner, Wet & Wild lipstick, Mark quad and Mary Kay mini quad :). Extra stuff: the gold glitter liquid liner and Nivea body cream sample ^_^. The tiny bottle's mine, and don't worry, I will explain :-P ;).

Opened so you can see the colours ^_^:

Isn't everything just lovely ^_^?!? The left page of Sugar Kaleidoscope has the lip colours, while the right page houses the eye shadows ;D. I love the Mary Kay mini quad ^_^ - I really hope I can find those colours in full-size pans once I'm done with these! I love everything of course, lol :-P :).

(For the record: OPI Russian Navy on nails, one coat. Adore this. I need to find more OPI lacquers. To swap for, that is - they retail for 15 Euros at Sephora here. US people, please convert to dollars and think about whether you'd buy them at that price >:-D.)

Just one minor issue left to resolve - I don't really use liquid liner :(. Yet the glitters are prettiful...What's a girl to do?

DIY: How to de-liner-ify a cheap liquid liner ;).

You will need your liner, and a tiny bottle cap that fits it. That's what the mini bottle was doing on the pic above ;D...It's actually a soya bottle that came with some sushi I bought last week ;). Fortunately, I kept it :).

The liner will have a plastic insert thingy that makes the hole skinny enough to only fit the liner brush.

Well...Use manicure scissors (or whatever works for you, really) to remove it ^_^!

You will end up with this...

Result: A bottle of liquid glittery gel ;D, and a liner brush that's yours to keep for whatever uses you may have for it ^_^! I'm gonna use it when I use mascara as a liquid liner ;). I refuse to buy one :-P. Or for this product, if I ever use it as a liquid liner, and I probably will ;D.
(You can also see the insert I removed on the pic - and the now capless soya sauce bottle XD.)

Swap 2 [Norway].

(For my L'Oreal Penelope Cruz Red and Rimmel Walnut Pearls duo. I didn't include extras, and I feel terrible about it now because she did.)

An Estee Lauder nail polish in White Beige (I'm using this next ;D), eye and lip liner from The Body Shop (wow, I didn't know these existed XD), and 2 extras: an Ulta duo (I love the left shade ^_^) and Chanel Chance sample. I never tried that fragrance before because of the stupid ad, but I did now, and I love it :). I'm keeping this for my sample fragrance wardrobe ;).

Does anybody know whether Ulta tests on animals :o? I hope they don't, I really want to keep this!

Oh, and I love the Estee nail polish bottle ^_^! I want more XD!

Swap 3...Well, Gift 3 [The USA].

This was really quite unbelievable...

I sent a message to this girl, offering to swap for some stuff from her list. She said she didn't really need anything from mine. Fair enough. But then she offered to just send me certain things that I had asked for, with me owing her nothing in return. Of course, I accepted. But I wasn't really sure she'd do it.

Until this came.

That's an Avon quad. The ones we have in Europe have those nasty-looking stripes, which is why I never buy them >:-D. This one is sooo much prettier ^_^! And the colours are lovely :D.

And 8 mini Mark glosses ^_^! I love any Mark products I can get my greedy hands on - unavailability does make the heart grow fonder :-P >:-). It'll take me a few days to test them all, but I already love (and would consider buying full sizes of) at least half of them ;D :).

Thank you so much, Vanessa ^_^!!!

OK, that's all the swap stuff for the time being ;). But I'll be receiving more in the weeks to come ;D...Can't wait ^_^!

I'm not done with writing about my New Acquisitions though :-P. Read on ;).

In a previous blog, I had mentioned that I needed to visit Sephora @ The Mall (I know, I think that name is ridiculously corny too) to track down a certain item that I badly need for contests. Thank God, I found it :D :) ^_^. But...

I ended up getting something else as well XD.

It was simply lovely, the last one left, and thus practically begging 'Please adopt me ^_^'. How could I resist :')?

Well, here's a riddle for you :-P. Can you guess which of these was my intended purchase, and which my impulse buy ;)?

[The saleslady threw in loads of Prada ribbons ;). I like the scent :) and will have to find it in liquid form XD so I can test it properly :-P, but because I have so many ribbons now...If you're swapping with me and want one or two, ask me and I'll give them :).]

(Oh, and if you have any Midnight Poison ribbons that you don't need - yes, they do exist, I have one with a tiny stain of blue nail polish on it >:-D...Please send them to me ^_^!!!)

Anyway, the answer is...

This was my impulse buy :).

The Too Faced New Romantic Peacock Palette :). It's lovely :). The packaging's amazing. There's another similar palette called the Unicorn, and I'm trying to track one down and swap for it ;D.

A closer look at the colours, as usual...

I don't know who would wear olive sage, fuchsia and silver together, but this makes me want to try XD. The glosses are a hot pink, dirty pink and shimmery white, and they're brilliant ^_^. I'm not completely sure about the bronzer, but I can always use it as a shadow ;). For a face product though, it appears far too glittery. Why is this brand so obsessed with glitter XD?

And my final New Acquisition for this already far too long post :-P...

This is a Sephora palette :). My first product by the brand ;). I hope I'm not disappointed in it, but I did swatch before I bought it and was pleasantly surprised.

The cover art is one of those cool pictures that change depending on the angle the light hits it at. I used to have calendars with a similar effect when I was little ;).

View 1: Dark Angels...

Can transform into this...View 2: The Light Angel.

Beyond full marks for this packaging, of course :). But what about the colours?

Well, the top layer (which is a pain to open, I might add >:-D) houses this lot:

Nice soft lovely neutrals :). The top row contains the eye shadows, and the bottom row has the lip colours ^_^.

While the bottom layer contains the reason this caught my eye in the first place - and so much more ;D.

[Yes, they open differently. The top section opens by lifting the lid (by the way, I forgot to mention the simply wonderful large mirror :D), while the bottom section slides out ;).]

Do I see red?!?

Yes, I DO ^_^!!!!!

Red eye shadow :). I finally found it.

There's also black, a weird shade that can't seem to decide whether it is grey or it is brown >:-), and a fair highlighter shade :). And some gorgeous glosses ;D ^_^.

The back has tutorials for two looks that can be done using this palette ;). Certainly a very welcome addition XD. I wish more palettes would add something of the kind...

[I'm not sure whether these are readable, but if you want them, holler and I'll type them up ;).]

There's a Look Innocence ^_^...

And a Look Extravagance :-P :D :).

I will be using this a lot in the near future ;).

I also bought some stuff for my first blind swap :D, and 2 Bourjois mini cream blushes for a Make-Up Alley one ;). Yes, there will be more stuff received in swaps on this blog :-P, I hope you enjoy it ;D.

In closing...Thanks so much for reading ^_^!!!

Really :).

And Happy Birthday To Me ^_^.

P.S. Any advice on being a twentysomething XD :-P?

I'm too lazy to blog properly, so I'll just give you this ^_^.

*Please CLICK to vote for ME if you think I deserve it :-P ;D.

*What happened on Easter? Well, I'm horrible at getting ready on time >:-D. You'd know that if you knew me in real life XD. It happened this year too - I miscalculated so badly that I only had time to throw on lip balm (which is basically nothing :-P) and go. No Easter look after all - although I think I will do a blog about what should have been my Easter look ;) ^_^.
And it's OK because I went to church to celebrate and honour Easter, not to show off my make-up skills - plenty of time for that in the future ;D.

*This has to be the most ridiculous GWP ever, so I simply had to share this with you :-P.

Easter-themed glass bottle >:-). From a department store XD. For spending a hundred Euros on cosmetics :-P.

I suppose it's the thought that counts - but I have no idea what to do with this XD!

Please share your oddest GWPs, it'll make this blog more interesting ;).

I also got a Bourjois gloss though :). (For spending 40 Euros on Bourjois products - actually it was 39 something, but this once the saleslady was kind and let me have it anyway ^_^. Normally I encounter bitchy ones, I guess things have to vary sometimes :-P.) And when I came home, I discovered that I had that exact shade in my wishlist notebook, yay ^_^! It's Bourjois Rouge Pop Chic in Poupre Chic, and knowing me, you'll guess the colour :-P. I'll be posting pics of it later anyway ;D.

I only bought stuff for swaps :D on that shopping spree - will be sending them out later this week :), today is a public holiday and everything has closed down, which makes for a very boring day :-P - thank God for blogging ;D. This year, I'm spending my birthday money on swaps - except for one item which I'll be getting for me :-P (because it's gonna be perfect for a few contest entries I plan to do ;D), if I can track it down at Sephora @ The Mall. They no longer have it in the centre Sephora :(. Saw some tourists there by the way :-/...Oh great. You may disagree, but anyone who pays to visit this country isn't the cleverest person out there in my humble opinion :-P.

And finally, here's the reason I started writing this...Got side-tracked with all the stuff above, sorry XD. Laura tagged me ;) :). Haven't done a tag for a while now, so here goes :-P.

1. Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

2. Tag eight other people.

What is your current obsession? Swapping XD.

What is your weirdest obsession? I really have no idea :-P...Actually, hang on - this is quite weird. If I had the freedom to, I'd be awake at night, just stay awake and watch the stars from my roof (it's flat). I'm obsessed with watching the night sky here. It's the most wondrous thing, and the only thing I'll miss when I leave this country. But I've never been to a country whose night sky I didn't love :). Except one - no, I won't elaborate. Don't ask.

What are you wearing today? My light green sweater, jeans and OPI Russian Navy ;). Thanks so much Sarah :D, it's perfect ^_^!

What's your favorite comfort food? If I correctly understand the definition of 'comfort food'...I don't have any. When I'm depressed, I don't eat. I completely lose any sense of hunger. Thank God for that silver lining.

What would make today special? I'd love it if it rained :D.

What would you like to learn to do? Figure out how to become irresistibly attractive, when I need it. I'd love that >:-).

What’s the last thing you bought? Bourjois and Korres products for swaps :).

What are you listening to right now? Whining. Don't ask :-/...

What is your favourite weather? Rain :D, snow, wind, clouds...Anything but sun >:-/.

What is your most challenging goal right now? It's challenging >:-). I never share this kind of thing anymore, previous experiences have taught me that.

What do you think about the person who tagged you? She's pretty, nice, and I love her blog :). And you should enter her Barbie contest :-P ;D.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? Somewhere in the North, definitely >:-D. I've had it with sunlight. But I have no idea about the country yet. That said, I'd love to live in England :). Just not sure whether I want to own a house there :-P.

What would you like to have in your hands right now? This is a really odd question >:-). I agree with Laura, I'd love to have money :-P.

What would you like to get rid of? Emotional baggage from my past. Anxiety. And my swap items XD.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? London :-P. First place I thought of. I've never been there & would love to :).

Which language do you want to learn? I'd love to learn Chinese. But it seems so different from all the other languages I know (please don't ask ;D), and such a challenge...I'm too scared to actually do anything about it XD.

What do you look for in a friend? I don't look for friends. They find me :-P.

Who do you want to meet in person? Anyone I admire :), and all of my blogger friends ^_^! I'd love to meet you ladies :D!

What’s your favourite type of music? Pop, I suppose XD. And if I like a film, I love its soundtrack :).

What is your favourite piece of clothing you own? I don't know whether I have a single one, but I love my chartreuse sweater :). Unlike most of mine that are huge, this one is fitted ;D. And I actually like the way it looks on me. You've no idea how harsh I am about that >:-).

Any favourite models? Kate Moss, of course. The Model.

If you had £100 now what would you spend it on? I'd go buy Kitty Kouture after all ^_^.

Favourite designer? Of course, I can't afford designer >:-D. But I love clothes and accessories by Fendi and Chanel :).

Fashion pet peeve? I know most people will disagree, but I'm honest :-P and will say it anyway >:-). I hate it when fat people dress as if they aren't aware of their size. Or worse, when they think their size is something to be proud of. And note that you won't change my mind on this, so I'd ask you not to bother ;D.

Do you admire anyone’s style? Sienna Miller's. There isn't much that I don't admire about her :).

Describe your personal style. I normally wear jeans and a huge bulky sweater :-P. When I want to make an effort, I love long, flowing dresses, and unique tops :).

What's your favorite ice cream flavour? Vanilla :). But I rarely eat ice cream. Dairy products usually make me feel sick :(.

Why did you start your blog? I loved reading beauty blogs :). Still do XD. My sister wondered why don't I start one of my own, and it kind of evolved from there ;). And it was one of the best decisions I've ever made :).

I think I'm late on this (again >:-D) and everybody else has been tagged, but if you haven't been, by all means please do this :-P. Thanks for reading mine ^_^.

A swap package for me ^_^! Way earlier than I expected - and with extras! Am I lucky or what XD?

Important Note 1: I will be sending all swaps etc. next week at the earliest :( - I'm really sorry about this, but everything's closing down for a quite extended Easter break and there's nothing I can do about it >:-). I hope this doesn't cause too much trouble for anyone. Thank you ^_^!

Important Note 2: I'm a finalist in a contest, YAY :D!!! Please go here and vote for me :) if you liked my pin-up & biker looks ;D - of course, if you like someone else's look more, feel free to vote for them :-P >:-).

This time, shipping from Canada to Greece only took a week...How on earth did that happen?
I'm not complaining XD, but had I known it would arrive this soon, I would've sent my part of the swap out earlier...And now I can't and I'm making a lovely sweet person wait :(. That doesn't make me happy >:-/...I'll try to find some nice extras to make up for it though ^_^ ;D.

Anyway, here is what I expected to receive:
*One bottle of OPI Russian Navy. (Yes, she bought me one, even though it was not her fault that the first one shattered - she didn't have to! And yet she did it ^_^.)
*2 MAC Hello Kitty lipsticks in Fashion Mews and Strayin'.

Which is extraordinary in itself - I mean, if you'd found the 2 loveliest lipsticks from MAC Hello Kitty, which also happen to be extremely hard to track down >:-D, would you:

*Freaking keep them XD
or
*Swap them away to a girl you barely knew from blogging - and who lives on another continent >:-).

Hmmm?

[She chose the latter. I still can't quite believe that. Thank you Sarah :).]

And here is what I actually received...

*The stuff I expected :). The nail polish was wrapped in loads of bubbles XD, and so were the lipsticks, lol - to make sure nothing'd break. Nothing did :).

*2 little pots for me to fill with the Kitty pigments for her - I did & will include them in my next package ;).

*Hello Kitty band-aids and a Hello Kitty key head XD! In my favourite colour ^_^! That was so unexpected, I had no idea there'd be extras, and certainly not Hello Kitty ones :)! Wow :D.

*A rather sweet note :). Wishing me a happy birthday ^_^! (I guess we both miscalculated the shipping time on this one, lol.)

*A sample bag of Buff'd Cosmetics mineral eye shadow in Chestnut (this was hidden in the Hello Kitty box XD). Eye shadow ^_^! A mineral one! From a Canadian brand ;D! In a reddish colour! This is such a perfectly selected sample for me :D!

I know I sound freaking ecstatic about this swap...I am :). That package made my whole day :). Thank you. Did I mention THANK YOU ^_^? Lol XD.

Close-ups ^_^:

Strayin' on the left, Fashion Mews on the right ;) :). Not swatching them or using them until Sarah receives hers though :-P. (I shouldn't have opened them either, but in my excitement I forgot - I'm sorry.)

I have swatches of something else though...My Kitty pigments :). I thought I might as well make swatches with the tiny bits of pigment left over on the spatulas ;D.

Left: Milk. Right: Deep Blue Green.

[Please note that I only do pigment samples for close blog friends - I hope you understand & won't hate me for that :).]

Deep Blue Green would be amazing drama on the eyes...And Milk is so luminous - I'm thinking of trying it on top of Fashion Mews some day in the future ;). I'm so satisfied with both :), very happy that Deep Blue Green is Pro permanent :D, and kinda sad that Milk isn't :(...But I'm sure MAC will repromote this luminous colour in the future, 'cause it's just too lovely to fade into obscurity ^_^.

Sarah, thanks again for an amazing swap :). Everyone else - here's her swap/sale blog if you'd like to swap with her or shop there. Highly recommended by me ;D.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering what I'm sending her...2 Hello Kitty TLCs, Hello Kitty pigment samples, the Blushing Coral & Scarlett lipsticks from my Swap Sale :), 2 Bourjois blushes and some Korres products I'll buy for her ;). (This is part of a way larger swap - when I receive the next package, you won't believe how generous she is, trust me.) And I'll have to come up with some really good extras or I'll feel guilty :-P.

Thanks for reading, everyone :) - don't forget to VOTE FOR ME :-P!!! Pretty please ^_^, lol.

P.S. Many thanks to Vonnie for sending me high-quality scans of the NYX catalogue :). (Yes, I'm weird and like that kind of stuff XD.)

First ever swap! It's here ^_^!

Well actually I received my package yesterday, but I wasn't able to blog then ;).

Before I begin...Thanks SO much Sarah ^_^!!! Seriously, she was amazingly kind and patient (it took me a month to send her stuff out - ahem, will do better next time, I hope :-P) throughout the whole process, and gave me so much lovely stuff that I never would've been able to acquire on my own :). Check out her make-up sale here - and even though it's a sale, she does do swaps for certain stuff ;).

So, without further ado...The goodies ^_^!!!

(Unfortunately, the OPI nail polish broke :( and puked ink all over most stuff, lol XD.)

I sent her one Korres Rose mask. With loads of samples so I wouldn't feel unkind, but...I still kinda do! Look at all the stuff she gave me ^_^!

Here we have: the plastic packaging from the Visee Glam Hunt Eyes eye shadow in G-5 (that thankfully protected most of it from the enamel ;D), my new broken OPI nail polish in Russian Navy ;_; (but I still kinda got one single manicure out of it, keep reading), Silk Naturals eye shadow baggies in Sizzle and Lurid (that one got inked and had a tiny hole in the bag, but I think I can still use it once or so :-P, lol - I don't let stuff go to waste if it can be saved at all), a Wet & Wild green eye shadow trio, the Visee Glam Hunt Eyes, a Revlon cream shadow quad (in Copper Crayon - it does say Crayon :o, that's weird :-/, lol XD), Wet & Wild cream shadow in Envy, a Burt's Bees lip balm, and Dior and Fresh skincare samples :).

Close-up of the eye palettes:

Thoughts and comments and stuff...On stuff ^_^! Lol I'm in a dorky mood today :-P.

Visee Glam Hunt Eyes: My first ever Japanese item yay ^___^! I feel so privileged :). It's funny, but I may just be the only one in the country to own this, and that feels so lovely ^_^! It's a great palette :), with the colours being white, green, purple, dark and silver (the pic's pretty true), and I love the imprints - and the packaging :D ^_^. Oh, and the back has a diagram on how to wear the colours - definitely a good thing for me, 'cause I am usually clueless, lol ;D.

Wet & Wild eye shadow trio: That thing has the best mirror I have ever seen (or owned) on a low-end item. It's actually large enough to be of use :D, unlike most >:-). It slides out from the side ;). The shades are great :D - if you're in North America, like greens and don't mind using cheap make-up, you have to get this :-P ;). And it's not tested on animals ^_^! I love this :). Does anyone have any other colours available for swapping ;)?

Revlon cream quad: I normally don't like Revlon, or creams :-P. But this is special :). It has all the colours one normally wears ;). Brown, blue, white...And red :D!!! OK, that one isn't 'normal' XD, but you know I love red shadow :). And this isn't a true red, it's more of a copper, so it's wearable ;) even if you're not a bright shadow person :). I'd be OK either way though, 'cause I am :-P ^_^.

Wet & Wild cream shadow in Envy: I saw this in an old photo shoot from US Seventeen, and it looked so beautiful on the model...I had to have it :). I tested it on my hand and it's lovely ^_^!!! I hope this doesn't crease badly when I use it on my eyes >:-), but if it doesn't, that would make it sort of perfect :)...For the price though, it already is ;).

Burt's Bees lip balm: This does smell and taste really strongly of honey, so if you hate honey this isn't for you :-P. But I don't, and I love this :). It's so soft and lovely ^_^! Will swap for this again when I use it up - but I hope that won't be too soon ;).

Silk Naturals shadow baggies: Lurid got soaked :(. It's a really nice brown though, cool-toned and with slight shimmer. And Sizzle is a gorgeous metallic light blue :D. I love the colour, I'll have to use my sample and if the shadow works well, I'll add this to my wishlist ;).

Last but not least, even though it broke...OPI Russian Navy.

The perfect inky blue. If you're fair and like dark blues, you have to buy this.

There, I've said it. And now I'm gonna search for this in every Sephora in town. I know I won't find it though - it was a 2007 release :(. But I can still try ;). I love this colour sooo much, I even did my nails with it! I used (you're not gonna believe this) nail polish remover to get the lacquer still left in the bottle into a semi-fluid state - can't remember where I read about this, but I did, and it works ;D. It does look quite clumpy on my nails, but I don't mind :-P 'cause the colour is this beautiful :). I might even get one more use out of that broken bottle, if I'm lucky ^_^.

Yes, my nails are all different lengths...So what :-P. I'm trying to grow them out ;).

Oh, and another New Acquisition I neglected to mention...Last Saturday, I went to The Mall (actual name - isn't it stupid >:-D?) with my sister and her friend. (Fine, actually I took my sister to the mall so she wouldn't get lost 'cause she'd never been there before, and we met up with her friend there.) I hate The Mall, and malls in general 'cause they're overwhelming (and remind me of a bad period of my life), but at least that place has a Sephora :). And I picked up the Too Faced Miss Sixty palette ^_^! (My sister had to lend me 5 Euros - I feel a bit guilty about that :-P.) It was the last one they had left :D, and the blush was partly broken >:-), but I can live with that :-P. Does anyone want a review :D?

Let me know ;). Thanks everyone for reading :), and Sarah for swapping with me ^_^.

MAC Hello Kitty, finally ^_^!!!

New Acquisitions (before you ask, I happen to hate the word 'haul') from MAC Hello Kitty:

*Eye palette in Too Dolly (left).
*Eye palette in Lucky Tom (right).
*Pigments in Milk and Deep Blue Green.
*Lipstick in Fresh Brew (keep reading for explanations).
*ArtDeco eye shadow in 243 - it's not MAC Hello Kitty, but I still bought it today so it belongs here :-P.
*Powder blush in Tippy.
*My sister's (OK, so I talked her into it XD) Beauty Powder in Tahitian Sand, and I'm allowed to borrow it if I ever need to ^_^.

Background: MAC Hello Kitty bag :), free with 4 items. If I remember correctly, it's free for every 50 dollars spent in the US, which means I would've received three. I love living in Europe :-P...
I do. I really do. But some things are unfair >:-/.

Anyway, I'm still really happy with my new stuff :D. I finally made it to MAC today, and made my sister come along 'cause salespeople tend to be more civil to me when I'm with her >:-). The MAC lady was really nice though, gotta give credit where it's due ;) :).
But...I was relatively late.

The palettes, pigments, glitters and glitter liners were all there, so I snapped the pigments up as planned :). I always knew I was going to get those ^_^. I actually planned on getting one palette, but after seeing them in person, I just fell in love and had to get them - I could, 'cause some stuff I'd planned to get was sold out (keep reading).
Just for the record, the palettes were 39 Euros each, and the pigments were 25 Euros each >:-).

This is why I do NOT normally shop for MAC in this country.

Seriously, what the hell? This is more than twice the US price. There's making profit, and then there's ripping people off 'cause they're fans of certain things...OK, rant over...But this is just wrong.

The lip products were cheaper, therefore many were sold out :(. Including Strayin' and Fashion Mews, which I really really wanted to get :'(! Of the three that were left, Most Popular looked just wrong on my skin and Big Bow was far too sheeny (plus excuse me, but I'd never get a lipstick with such a stupid name anyway), so I got Fresh Brew, a gorgeous creamy colour :). Special thanks to my sister for getting this for me ^_^, 'cause I had no money left - and now I need to repay her ASAP, lol XD. Don't worry, I will :-P ;).

Half of the glosses were also sold out (Nice To Be Nice, which I'd wanted to get, wasn't even available for swatching :( >:-/) , and I didn't like any of those that were left, so I passed. Both TLCs are still available though, and to be honest I didn't like them...Does anyone want to swap lipsticks for TLCs by any chance ;)?

The Beauty Powders were still available, and I convinced my sister to get Tahitian Sand because it was gorgeous on her :). She's not a Kitty fan, but she relented - I'm very persuasive XD. Fun & Games was sold out, but Tippy was not, and I bought it :D.

Hmmm...What else? The grey nail polish was sold out, the other two were not, but I'm afraid my craving for those has passed, sorry MAC people ;D :-P. The lashes were there and looked really good, but I have no idea how to use false lashes XD, and the black accessories just weren't that attractive to me ;).

I also went to a few other stores and finally swatched ArtDeco's spring stuff (will do a review soon :D) - I took pics too, so yes, you'll be getting swatches ;D! And I bought the new eye shadow in 243, it's an absolutely striking lovely spring green colour :D - if you're in Europe, you've gotta get this ;). I wanted to get the blue and lemony shades too, but they're similar to the Lucky Tom Kitty palette colours, so I won't have to :).

Went to the Laura Mercier counter at Attica just to have a look - I was completely broke after MAC :-P >:-). First Blush isn't out yet :(, but the saleslady said it'll arrive before Easter. That's fine with me, I'll have more time to save for it, lol ;D. It'll probably be over 50 Euros, but I adore Laura palettes and those colours are just so spring-perfect :)...This is one palette I'm very likely to buy ^_^.

Besides my MAC and ArtDeco stuff, I picked up Givenchy perfume samples, Neutrogena body cream samples (a girl was giving them out), and loads of ads, even for brands I know I won't be shopping from, 'cause the looks were still gorgeous and I love to be inspired ;). I even grabbed a card from YSL, because Purple Snowflake did an absolutely beautiful rendition of it, and I know I can't match her but I may still try ^_^.

And that's about it ;D...Will do a post on ArtDeco and that Honest Things tag as soon as I can ;). I'll leave you with more MAC Kitty pics...Thanks for reading :), and do let me know what you think ;)...Questions, comments, Kitty-caused swoons XD, whatever ^_^.

My pigments, lipstick and ArtDeco shadow close up :).

With the lights on...See that gorgeous blue green reflection :D? And isn't Milk just pure sweet loveliness ^_^?
The whole lot under electric light...Beautiful :).

P.S. I adore my free bag :) ;D :-P.