Turquiose Gardens

I'm Back! (Well, sort of.)

2012-10-08T22:13:00.003-04:00

So I've been MIA for a year. But I do have a new blog. It's a lifestyle blog and I'm enjoying it more than doing product reviews and such. So if you want to see how I am or what I've been doing. Follow me/ visit my new blog.

livingbittersweetly.blogspot.com

Nails of the Day: Misbehaved

2011-09-21T16:31:00.000-04:00

I finally gave in to the nail polish sticker trend and used Sally Hansen's Salon Effects in Misbehaved. It is a metallic silver base with a fishnet pattern over it. The application was pretty easy; the first few I did were hard but I quickly got the hang of it. I'm on day 3 of the stickers and I only have minimal tip wear. Yay! Picture time!

September Birchbox

2011-09-19T12:59:00.001-04:00

I finally gave in to the Birchbox trend and for $10 I received my first Birchbox in the mail last week. It comes in a bright pink box which I felt a bit weird about when I got my package out of my school's mail room... However other than the obnoxiously pink box, I was pleased with my box.

The box comes with a letter about the box and on the back side there is an explanation of the products inside the box.

As you can see, I received Incoco Nail Polish Appliques, Jouer Lip Enhancer, a LIV GRN Earth Eau de Parfum sample, a Pangea Organics Facial Cream and a Birchbox Friendship Bracelet.

Here's everything as it was when I opened the box. I like how full it looks and the large size of the face cream.

Pangea Organics Facial Cream

LIV GRN Perfume Sample

Jouer Lip Enhancer

Friendship Braclet

Incoco Nail Appliques

Overall, I'm pleased with the contents of my Birchbox and will be getting another one next month. If you'd like my opinions on a product let me know. Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay on Haute Look!

2011-09-13T11:40:00.000-04:00

There are some great Urban Decay Products on Haute Look for ridiculously cheap. The event ends tomorrow (September 14th) so be sure to check it out here!

NYX and Cult Nails Packages

2011-09-12T00:13:00.001-04:00

I got these babies in the mail a few days ago and am super excited to start playing with them. Swatches will happen soon. I hope.... Since I've been back at school I have been so busy.

NYX

Cult Nails

August Empties!

2011-09-01T23:44:00.000-04:00

So my attempts at Project Ten Pan failed. But I did finish five products this month!!

I finished ...
Burt's Bees Radiance Day Creme. It was a nice moisturizer for when I was spending the night away from home as it was so tiny and very moisturizing. It doesn't have sunscreen in it though so I'll probably not rebuy this one.

Burt's Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion. This lotion was super moisturizing and smelled great. I got this tiny bottle in a Burt's Bees trial size set and will probably buy a big one if I can find it as long as it's not too expensive.

Good Skin Perfect Balance Moisture Lotion. Another decent face moiturizer. It came in a skin care set my mom got from Kohl's and didn't use so she passed it down to me. It was okay but it's a bit too pricey for me.

Beauty Rush Mascara in blue. A good mascara for the colored lashes trend. It's not too expensive and volumizes a lot. My only complaint was the tube which is kind of like a lip gloss tube. It's since been changed into a regular mascara tube and I have bought a new one in purple.

Lumene Sensitive Eyes Mascara. Not a huge fan. It didn't do much for my lashes. I've never seen this brand other than this mascara I have but I wouldn't repurchase even if I knew where I could find it.

Leave any product questions or general comments below! Thanks for reading!

Urban Decay Package!

2011-09-01T21:21:00.001-04:00

I bought some things at the amazing sale on Urban Decay.com that I told you about a week or so ago. I got in my package a few days ago and here's what I got!

Who doesn't love coming home to a purple box?

Safely packed in bubble wrap

Urban Glow Sample in Sin, Loose Pigment in Rockstar, Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer in Bodyguard and Apocalyptic Nail Set.

I'm so excited for the nail polish I've been lusting after this set since I saw swatches earlier this summer.

Nails of the Day: Blood Thirsty Bites (and the first ever appearance of my right hand!))

2011-08-26T23:40:00.000-04:00

It is incredible how often I need to paint my nails in the summer. I work in a shoe store and for some reason unbeknownst to me, my polish peels off my fingers. So when I get chips to big to ignore or a nail entirely polish free I repaint. Here's something I did quickly last night as I can't stand to have naked nails!

The dark color is Manic Panic's Blood Thirsty and the light color is Wet n Wild's Bite the Bullet.

25% off Eyeko until August 26th!

2011-08-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

Use code SUMMER25.

Eye of the Day: Under the Gun

2011-08-23T23:16:00.000-04:00

Today's Eye of the Day is named for Under the Gun by The Killers because this is the look I do when I have no time to do my makeup creatively.

Product List:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Physicians' Formula Matte Eyeshadow Quad in Classic Basics
    -nude shadow all over lid
    -brown shadow in crease
    -white shadow as highlight
    -grey lower lash line
Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen in Black
    -upper lash line, winged out
Rimmel London The Max Volume Flash Mascara in Extreme Black
    -upper lashes

Nails of the Day: Glitter and Black Crackle

2011-08-23T22:56:00.000-04:00

Not another crackle manicure! Oh yes it is. Am I the only person ever who will never be sick of crackle polish? It's just so cool and it dries instantly (just about)! Here's some delicious black crackle with gold and rainbow holographic glitter. Mmmmm!

The glitter is Del Sol's polish in Jupiter and some Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in In the Spotlight layered in. The Del Sol polish is supposed to turn purple in sunlight but that doesn't happen with a topcoat over it... So sad. The crackle is OPI's Black Shatter. One more glitter picture, slightly out of focus to show the awesomeness of it.

Thanks for reading about/looking at yet another crackle mani!

Lush Jungle Solid Conditioner Review

2011-08-23T22:44:00.002-04:00

Lush creates handmade, high quality beauty products and at the beginning of the summer I finally gave in to the delicious smelling Jungle Solid Conditioner. It contains a multitude of beneficial ingredients including cocoa butter, avocado extracts, figs, bananas, passion fruit, kumquat, kiwi, ylang ylang oil, cypress oil and sandlewood oil. Lush boasts smoothing and detangling qualities as well as a delicious fresh scent. How did it stand up in the shower?

First off, this smells fantastic. What is exactly smells like.... I'm not sure. It is fruity and maybe a bit like pine... or I suppose one could say it smells like a jungle. The Jungle Solid Conditioner comes in bar form and Lush suggests that it should be used wet and rubbed through your hair from top to bottom. Initially, I tried out this form of application but then discovered a more effective way. I cut up the bar into tiny pieces and mixed a piece with water on my palm in the shower. There is a lot of cocoa butter in the bar so it softens easily. This method was more effective in softening my hair and making a noticeable difference.

This is how much I use

Unlike regular conditioner, Jungle does not make your hair feel oily in the shower at all. In fact, you barely notice anything is in your hair. I did notice big differences right after using it though. My hair became much smoother and less frizzy. For the first time ever I didn't have to straighten my hair for it to look good! Lush has fantastic hair products. I really need to talk about H'Suan Wen Hua another hair product from Lush that is amazing. The more I used Jungle the softer and shinier my hair became. Another benefit was the acne on my back dissapeared! Apparently after rinsing my hair out the chemicals and general greasiness of my conditioner ended up on my back and shoulders.

The conditioner bar does run a bit steep at $7.95 for 2oz. I got 54 uses out of it which comes to about $0.15 a use. I would like to repurchase this conditioner as it worked great however the initial price does not suit my budget. It's a good deal for such a high quality product but I just hate spending that much money when I can pay less for more product. Oh Lush, if only you had coupons...

Random Updates

2011-08-23T18:39:00.001-04:00

So a few weeks ago, I attempted Project 10 Pan and have already failed. I finished a few products (the Burt's Bees cream, the Sephora Eye Pencil, both of the mascaras and the nail hardener) but have purchased things as well (e.l.f. brushes, a Sephora brush set, a Nyx value set on Hautelook, random goodies from Urban Decay and a subscription to Birchbox). My resistance level is low. Online shopping is my only form of enjoyment in the summer. I've decided to modify my project 10 pan and instead have a goal of finishing at least five products monthly and refrain from purchasing for the next month if I fail. So what this means is that there will be monthly posts from me about the products I have used up and what I think about them, if I will be repurchasing them, etc. So the August edition of that post will be up in a few days.

I will be moving back to school soon (yay!) so there may be posts about my room decorating as well as product and clothing organization. I'm nosy and like seeing other people's stuff so maybe you'll like looking at my tiny dorm room too. If anyone has some suggestions leave a comment!

I am going to start doing outfit of the day posts as well once I get back to school. I dress cuter for classes and going out around Boston and want to show you some of the awesome items I've recently got (a "leather" jacket, two polkadot dresses, etc)

Nails of the Day: Blue Duo

2011-08-18T23:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been a bit behind on posting my manicures. I've been extremely busy. I am moving back to Boston in less than a month to go back to school and am working just about every day. Anyway, here's a picture of my nails. (Ignore my middle finger. After three coats. )

The darker color is an Urban Outfitters Color called Blue 3 and the lighter blue is Eyeko's Rain Polish for City Nails.

Crazy Urban Decay Sale

2011-08-18T17:53:00.002-04:00

Evil Shades Cosmetics: Hardcore Lips and Deviant Lipstick

2011-08-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

As you know from my previous post, I recently placed on order with Evil Shades Cosmetics. I was going to do a giant post of awesomeness to show you all of the goodies I got but that would be so incredibly long that I decided to make separate posts for blush, lip products and eye products.

I ordered deviant lipstick samples in Corset and Mage which are packaged in the same clam shells as the eyeshadow and blush samples are. The hardcore lips samples are packaged in cylinder shaped containers which makes containing the gloss easier and makes it less likely that one will make a mess of their hands.... I ordered them in Roue, Dragon's Wing and Anastasia.

Left to Right: Dragon's Wing, Roue, Anastasia

Left to Right: Mage, Corset

Mage- magical cool toned green on the edge of metallic.
Corset- deepest defiant blood red cremeDragon's Wing- magical dragon scale green with subtle gold shimmer and a silver to teal shift
Roue- delicious, dark blood red

Anastasia- deep intriguing shade of deep blue based violet, nearly indigo with cyan shimmer that dances through the dark base

I am so happy about these lip products. Both the lipsticks and glosses are available in a multitude of unique colors and have a sweet bubblegum scent. They are extremely moisturizing and are crazy pigmented. I know I sound like a broken record but seriously, why don't you have one of everything from Evil Shades?

In case I haven't convinced you, here are swatches!

Deviant Lipstick in Mage

Deviant Lipstick in Corset

Hardcore Lips in Dragon's Wing

Hardcore Lips in Roue

Hardcore Lips in Anastasia

Expect another round of products from Evil Shades soon. Everything I ordered was so gorgeous and I want more!

NYX on Hautelook Today!

2011-08-12T13:22:00.000-04:00

Just to let everyone know Nyx is on Hautelook today. If you've never heard of Hautelook, it is a website where you can get designer items for discounted prices. Until Monday (August 15, 2011), Nyx sets will be up to 50% off! It's a great deal to take advantage of and I'm so excited to get my order! Click here to get there!

30 Day Challenge: Day Thirteen

2011-08-11T20:14:00.000-04:00

Yes I know I suck at the whole 30 Day challenge thing. I'm working on it though!

Day 13: Goals
To start a magazine focused on alternative fashion, art and music.
To see as much of the world as possible.
To become fluent in Portuguese.
To inspire at least one person to reach their full potential.

Evil Shades Cosmetics: Eyeshadow and Primer

2011-08-10T00:39:00.001-04:00

As you know from my previous post, I recently placed on order with Evil Shades Cosmetics. I was going to do a giant post of awesomeness to show you all of the goodies I got but that would be so incredibly long that I decided to make separate posts for blush, lip products and eye products.

I ordered five eye shadows in Victorian Night, Drakon, Mystisizm, Reondite and Glooming. As I already mentioned Andrea is the nicest person ever (see her blog here) and gave me two samples of Evileyes Primer in Naked and Noir. I love the texture of them and I will definitely be purchasing Noir because of how amazing it makes everything look! Here they are along with the adorable Evil Shades girl.

Evil Shades has a huge variety of shadow colors; each one is extremely unique and full of shimmery deliciousness so it was quite difficult to choose which shadows I wanted. I got five sample sizes which based on the website description I was a bit nervous about. For $1.25 you get enough product for about three uses well unless you are covering your face with the pigment (cool if that's your thing) but you the majority of us who will just limit the color to our eyelids, I'm going to estimate at least ten to fifteen uses. Then again the colors are so gorgeous I may just cover my entire body in Evil Shades colors.

Left to Right: Victorian Night, Drakon, Mystisizm, Reondite, Glooming

Shade Descriptions from evilshades.com as all descriptions are accurate and described by their creator and designer.

Victorian Nights - medium lavender with teal shimmer and a subtle blue green shiftDrakon- medium blue green with gold, green and pink shimmer and a wine based that flashes throughMystisizm- clandestine aqua blue - calls forth a shimmering turquoise with mystic green shift
Reondite- medium aqua with pink shimmer
Glooming- blackest shadow loaded with aqua sparkles

Swatch Time! There are three pictures in order to better show you the complexity and gorgeousness of each color which still must be seen in person to get the full effect of the colors.

Left: Over Naked Evileyes Primer, Center: Over Noir Primer, Right: Bare Skin
Top to Bottom: Victorian Night, Drakon, Mystisizm, Reondite, Glooming

I am so pleased with my experiences with Evil Shades Cosmetics. I will definitely order more colors and most likely in full size as I can see myself using these samples up very quickly. Shadows are available for $1.25 in sample size (one gram), $5 in full size (five grams) and $9 in pro size (ten grams). Primers are available in Naked (nude), Noir (black) and Opal (white) for $10.
Have you ever used Evil Shades Cosmetics? (if not what are you waiting for?) What colors would you like to see next?

Eyeko Polishes: Cosmic, Vampira, Rain and Posh

2011-08-08T23:54:00.000-04:00

I recently made my first purchase of Eyeko products. I bought four polishes and received a free gift of a Graffiti Eyeliner felt tip pen from using an ambassador code. Each polish came to $6 or €5 for .3 fl oz which is a bit expensive but totally worth it as the packaging for each color is unique and adorable, the color choices are diverse and the formula is incredible.

I purchased Vampira Polish for Gothic Nails, Cosmic Polish for Space Age Nails, Rain Polish for City Nails and Posh Polish for Ladylike Nails. Vampira and Cosmic are glitter polishes suspended in black jelly bases. Rain and Posh are both cremes. All nail swatches are with no top coat and two coats on the mentioned polish.

Top to Bottom: Cosmic Polish, Vampira Polish, Posh Polish, Rain Polish

Left to Right: Rain Polish, Posh Polish Vampira Polish, Cosmic Polish

Rain- blue-grey creme
Posh- yellowy nude creme
Vampira- red glitter in black jelly
Cosmic- rainbow glitter in black jelly

Sorry everyone but one last photo of the packaging! I'm such a design junkie.

High Voltage Cosmetics: Eyeshadow and Magic Dust Swatches

2011-08-08T21:05:00.001-04:00

I heard about High Voltage Cosmetics from a few blogs that I read regularly and once I visited their website I knew I had to try them. I was so excited when I saw their eyeshadow pigment grab bags. For $2.50, High Voltage will send you five 1/4th teaspoon baggies. That comes down to $0.50 a sample! I asked for a random selection and got a good variety of shadows. I ordered 15 samples and I'm happy with all of them. Some colors are basic while others are really unique. Overall, I would say that it was well worth the money. Each color is packaged in a little baggie with a name and ingredients sticker as the company is committed keeping samples at an affordable price for their customers. I also purchased a sample size of magic dust, their super sparkly highlighter.

I was also quite excited by the coupon given to me by High Voltage. After making my purchase, I checked my email and saw that I had a refund. It was a 20% off coupon with the message "Thanks for your Order!" I was so excited and thought it was a great business practice as with that coupon I got the shipping cost plus a little more deducted from my total.

I did have a small issue with High Voltage however. I purchased two of the sample sizes of magic dust to possibly give one away as it looked so awesome. I only received one with my order and do not want to give one of you something I have already used/swatched. I emailed the email that is linked to High Voltage's PayPal account and the emails were bounced back to me as there was some sort of error with the address. I had to file a dispute via PayPal and asked for either a refund or to have the product shipped to me. It was settled in a matter of hours so while I am happy the issue was solved, I'm a little put off by the missing product in my order especially because I wanted to give it away. I do like their shadows but I'm not sure if I will repurchase as I don't want any of my order items to be not included.

On to the swatches! All swatches are on bare skin and I have included photos of the shadows in natural light and under fluorescent light. All color descriptions are my own and how I interpret the colors.

Natural Light. Top to Bottom: Good Girl Gone Bad, Lady Stardust, Futuristic Pop, Out of Control, Pan

Fluorescent Light. Right to Left: Good Girl Gone Bad, Lady Stardust, Futuristic Pop, Out of Control, Pan

Good Girl Gone Bad- violet with awesome pink sparkles.
Lady Stardust- Periwinkle
Futuristic Pop- Lavender with very light pigmentation
Out of Control- Light Fuchsia with Pink Sparkles (not great pigmentation)
Pan- Just about same color as Out of Control but with better pigment.

Natural Light. Top to Bottom: Radio City, Hologalacticon, November Rain, Glamour Overdose, Immortal Desire

Fluorescent Light. Right to Left: Radio City, Hologalacticon, November Rain, Glamour Overdose, Immortal Desire

Radio City- Cobalt blue with purple sparkle
Hologalacticon- Forest green with blue sparkle
November Rain- Medium toned green with gold sparkle
Glamour Overdose- Opalescent Light Green
Immortal Desire- Opalescent Pink

Natural Light. Top to Bottom: Pandora, Cherry Bomb, Fire & Rain, Rule Breaker, Drive in Movie

Fluorescent Light. Right to Left: Pandora, Cherry Bomb, Fire & Rain, Rule Breaker, Drive in Movie

Pandora- Burgundy with pink sparkle
Cherry Bomb- Dark pink with green sparkle
Fire & Rain- Dark red-orange
Rule Breaker- Medium Orange
Drive In Movie- Yellow

Magic Dust. Top: Concentrated Swatch. Bottom: Blended Swatch.

Magic Dust- White-pink silvery shimmer.

Have you ever ordered anything from High Voltage Cosmetics? What do you think of the colors above?

30 Day Challenge: Day Twelve

2011-08-08T11:07:00.000-04:00

Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without

Well it's hard to narrow it down to one thing but my top four essentials are:

iPod- sometimes i just have the overwhelming urge to listen to The Smiths or The Bravery. I can't help it.

Lip Balm- I'm a girl. I need soft lips.

Mascara- I'm constantly on the run and I feel more put together with a sweep of mascara. It creates the illusion that I put effort into how I look on the days I wake up fifteen minutes before I need to be at work.

The Book I'm Currently Reading- I don't have my license and I work at a job where I do basically nothing most of the time so a book is nessacery to pass the time. Also I'm a literature major and I enjoy reading.

What do you not leave the house with out? Do you like personal posts on blogs? Do you want to know more about me? Comment Below!

Project Ten Pan (sort of)

2011-08-06T23:40:00.000-04:00

Recently I read a post by Claire at Eyelining Obsessions about Project Ten Pan. It was the first I heard of it and love the idea of sing up some older products before purchasing new ones. Here's what I would like to use up.

Lancome Juicy Tube in some Unknown Color, Lypsyl Beeswax Lip Balm, Physician's Formula Powder Palette in Blushing Nude, Revlon Eye Glide in Denim, Lumene Mascara in Black, Beauty Rush Mascara in Indiglow, Sally Hansen Nail Protex Strengthener, Physician's Formula Highlighter in Fancy Pansy, Burt's Bees Radiance Day Creme, NYC Browser in Brunette, Good Skin Lightning Eye Cream and Moisture Lotion and Sephora Eye Pencil in 500.

Have you ever done this? Do you think you could? Wish me luck!

30 Day Challenge: Day Eleven

2011-08-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

Day 11: Favorite tv shows

The Office
Toddlers and Tiaras
Three Million Kids and Counting (oh its only 19? my bad)
Good Eats
Barefoot Countessa
Modern Family
The Big Band Theory

30 Day Challenge: Day Ten

2011-08-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

Day 10: Something you're afraid of

photo from http://socialcuisine.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/seagull.jpg

When I was a kid one stole a sandwich from me AND bit me. I was so upset. I would like beaches so much more if they werent there. They are awful. Also Alfred Hitchcokc's The Birds didnt help much either.