Day-o! Day-ay-ay-o!

I'm so all over this right here:

That's the upcoming Beetlejuice collection from Models Own. I don't own a single Models Own polish as of now but I'm looking at this set and I want every single one. Word on the street is this will be released in November. I'm embarrassingly excited - that one on the left looks like Chanel Peridot.

Zoya Edyta

Even though I love Zoya's Edyta, I basically had to force myself to wear it. I tend to gravitate towards my brights and pastels. I can't help it - I love the way brights look with my skin. In any case, Edyta is perfect at two coats but I had to double up on my base coat because it stains like crazy.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Under the Stars + Zoya Vegas Freeze

I haven't done a funky french in a while so I figured I would dust off a couple of old favorites. Under the Stars, like most RBL polishes, is very pigmented but not thick so perfect for doing the tips. Topping it all off with a coat of Vegas Freeze brings out the subtle shimmer in Under the Stars and makes the naked parts of the nail more interesting.

Revlon Starry Pink

The pink is more pronounced in real life and I love the large, hex glitters among the tiny silver sparkles. This was sheer (almost jelly-like) so I did three coats though I probably should have done a fourth. I love it but it's quite subtle (by my standards anyway) and you know me and nail polish = go bold or go home.

The only cure is more cowbell*

Once upon a time, my collection looked like this. It's marked as "what's in my makeup bag" but more or less, that as all my stuff. But as you can probably gather, the sickness = it spreads. Having a sister that works at Sephora does not help at all. I also blame Makeup Alley. With that, here are the contents of my Helmer. These are things I use on a regular basis (not all at once, in  case any of yous feel the need to ask). I actually have a box of "retired" items but I digress...

Drawer 1: face primers, concealers, foundations (liquid and powder), finishing powders, blushes (powder, creme and stains) and highlighters and bronzers.

Drawer 2: eyeshadow primers, brow products (pencil, powders, waxes), eyeliners (pencils, gels and liquids), mascara, various tools, sample-sized perfume, false lashes, my Shu Uemara eyelash curler (Shu pulled out of US retail stores a while back and I am afraid for the day when this needs to be replaced)

Drawer 3: eyeshadow singles and smaller palettes (I have bigger palettes that just don't fit; I keep those at the top of my desk in one of those letter holders) and various tools.

Drawer 4: all the lip stuff! Lipsticks, lipgloss, lip cremes, pencils, medicated balms, tinted balms, etc.

Drawer 5: Mid to high-end nail polish. Those of you with sharper eyes will see Revlon in there and I don't consider Revlon a mid-end polish company but I'm running out of room in the low-end drawer and I had to keep them together! My frankens are also in here.

Drawer 6: Low-end nail polish and polish minis. Retired nail treatments (I keep my frequently used nail treatments in a caddy with my manicure tools).

And for good measure, here is how I store my brushes. It's a Real Simple letter caddy I found at Target. The dividers I made myself out of foam-core board. I also keep my two favorite mascaras, favorite eyeshadow primer, brush cleaner and setting spray in this.

And that's that. I don't consider myself a collector by any means - I just really like makeup and find makeup application very soothing.

* Extra points to those who know what I'm talking about.

Konadicure Failure

I was aiming for a manicure inspired by Urban Decay's gorgeous 15th Anniversary palette and what I got was something else... Base color is Revlon Carbonite, Mash plate m64 with Sinful Colors Verbena and Wet n Wild Buffy the Violet Slayer.

I realized too late that I didn't have a proper, rich velvety purple. I tried to use Sinful Colors Verbena but it didn't have enough contrast. So to up the ante, I restamped with Buffy but it was too watery and shimmery to have much impact.

I smudged my middle finger badly in the middle of all this and by then I was already uninspired so I just left it unstamped. If anyone asks, it's my "accent" color. :P

Speaking of Buffy, anyone catch Sarah Michelle Gellar's new show "Ringer?" I'm halfway through the first episode and so far so good!

Locking Down your Stash

If you are sharing your home with kids, siblings, roommates or very dexterous pets, you might want to consider finding a way to secure your stash. It seems a common enough occurrence (on MUA anyway) that expensive items disappear, or one child takes it upon herself to use your favorite Too Faced palette to create her own smokey-eyed face of the day. Here's how I've modded my Helmer to keep those sticky fingers out:

That's a wooden rod cut to the length from the top handle to the bottom with an eye screw at the top and a combo, luggage lock to secure it in place.

Once upon a time, I used a key lock and then misplaced the key. I had to take the Helmer apart to get it open again so I really recommend the combo lock instead. This one is from Walmart and it was about $3-$4 for two. Now my stuff is safe as long as I remember to lock up after each use.

So I know this blog is new and I have zero readers but if some poor, bored person has found themselves here, what's up? Have you had a roommate or sister steal your makeup? Has your child ever tried to "color pictures" with your eyeliners?

Revlon Devil's Lure

Fall is here so time to break out the vamps! It's hard to capture this one on camera but it is a very deep red jelly. Great formula but you have to be careful about getting it on your cuticles because it doesn't clean up easily; the red is very staining and I actually had to remove and retry because I allowed it to pool in my cuticle and it just would not come off without a fight.