Highlighters You Can't Have #7 - Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Shimmer Bloc - Review, Swatches, Pictures

Is it the end of the month already? Has July just whipped past and I didn't even get a chance to truly milk my birthday month for all I could?  So sad.  Well I guess I'll just get on with the Highlighter You Can't Have for this month.  Before I do that, let's review what I have teased and tortured you with so far:  I started the series with a Dior Highlighter that sat unused for years until I started this series, then teased you with a Guerlain Highlighter that sold out literally weeks after premiering (Glad I have a back up), then I showed you an Estee Lauder Highlighter exclusive to Bergdorf Goodman, repeated the Estee Lauder Theme the following month, Talked about a  Revlon Highlighter/Blush which was very sweet looking and finally presented the oldest highlighter in my collection. The Chanel Lumiere Platine Platinum Face Powder from 2000. This month I bring you an adorable looking highlighter from Laura Mercier.

The Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Shimmer Bloc.  This was released in her spring collection of 2009.  This frosty pink highlighter could double as a blush for people with fair skin tones.  The shimmer bloc has a floral pattern in the powder with three flowers of different colors in the design.  Here is the cool thing.  Those flower colors are not overspray!  Yup. the color goes all the way down to the base (so I believe, I haven't made much of dent so far).

The texture of the shimmer block is fairly hard. I'm not saying it's so hard that it lacks pigmentation (Quite the opposite) but I just does not seem to wear down at all.  I have been using a stippling brush to apply because the color can be overwhelming for my pale complexion, but I still have yet to make any headway into making this shimmer bloc look very used.  I think that's a great thing.

The color is that of a neutral pink with high level of frost.  You usually get the main pale pink with the bright hot pink mixed in most of the time you apply it. The powder blends well and looks pretty on the face.  However, you can overdo it with this highlighter and end up looking like you just motor boated Tinkerbell, so use the "less is more" technique of application.

I actually purchased this from Hautelook at a discount so I don't remember the original price, but the Hautelook price was so good I picked up 2 of them.  Oh what's that?  2?  Yes. I purchased 2. I have been using one of them off and on since I received it and I have yet to make a dent in it.  That means that the 2nd one is sitting around untouched, unused and lonely.  Perhaps I should give it away.  Would you like that?  Of course you would!  FREE, discontinued makeup that is shimmery and pink.  How could you not want it?  OK.  I'll do it.  You twisted my arm.  Enter using the raffelcopter entry from below.  Please see my contest/official rues HERE.  This giveaway is open to all people over the age of 18 and open to any country I can legally ship cosmetics to.  A winner will be announced on August 31st as will a new Highlighter You Can't Have.  Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is my own Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Shimmer Bloc. I used this to create the swatches for this post.  Look how unused it looks! 

This review contains a Hautelook referral link.  By signing up with Hautelook though this link, and making a purchase you will be giving me "credit" for the referral.  Hautelook will ten reward me with $10 toward any future purchase.  You can opt out of this by clicking on the this link Hautelook (NON Referral Link) or by going to http://www.hautelook.com.

Lilacquer Polishes: The Fifth Element Collection Part II - Review, Pictures, Swatches

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 This is PART 2 of my post for Lilacquer Polishes The Fifth Element collection.  To read Part 1, click HERE!

When I was contacted by Lilacquer Polishes to review the new Fifth Element collection I JUMPED at the chance. 1) Because I LOVE The Fifth Element movie.  It's one of the best movies EVER!  A great cast: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. A Great Director/Writer: Luc Besson. A GREAT Costume Designer: Jean-Paul Gaultier. How could anyone NOT like this movie? (That's a rhetorical question, I don't need your reviews of this movie in the comments section.)  and 2) Because I am addicted to duochrome polishes!!!  Seriously. I love them more than any other polish ever. More than HOLOS!!!.  

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Lilacquer Polishes is an independent brand. AKA Indie Brand, and unlike a lot of indie brands, Cathleen, the owner of Lilacquer, specializes in duochrome polishes.  Everything she releases has duochrome pigments in them.  This is her second collection, and it's significantly different from the first.  Her first release was a set of sheer polishes only for layering, this second release is able to be opaque on their own in two to three coats.  The Fifth Element collection shows duochrome on their own, albeit more subtle, and they flash a very nice duochrome when worn as one coat over a black creme.

Shall we take a peek at the 2nd set of polishes?

Supreme Being

Supreme Being is what Milla Jovovich is in this movie. She is sent from "the gods" to save the planet. She is referred to as The Supreme Being.  The nail polish with the same name is a delicate cornflower blue shimmer with slight hints of soft pink duochrome.  This pretty color is opaque with three coats or two thick coats.  The formula was fluid and neither too thin nor too thick.

The Diva Plavalaguna

The Diva Plavalaguna is described as a "deep blackened blue shimmer that morphs to an aqua green" but I found it a nice summery teal. The duochrome is not as apparent in this shade but it still is stunning.  Named after the strange alien that Leeloo must contact to save the world.  If you have time, do a youtube search for the Diva Plavalaguna aria. It's amazing! This pretty polish is opaque in two coats.  It has a good formula and applies well.

Super Green

Super Green is a slang term that Ruby Rod uses in the movie. It means Things are cool or awesome.  This polish is a lime green with a green shimmer with slight flashes of orange.  It looks incredible over a green polish or black.  It is shown here with 2 coats. The formula was super green! It was fluid and applied nicely.

Zorg Industries

Zorg Industries.  I saved the best for last! Zorg played by Gary Oldman is an arms dealer and he's incredibly quirky. He too wants to get at the prize that the Diva Plavalaguna has but has much more nefarious reasons.  I think Lilacquers really achieved the perfect color befitting a shade called Zorg Industries.  Zorg's costume in the movie, designed by the infamous and avant-garde, Jean-Paul Gaultier, is in itself a duochrome color. The shirt flashes from grey to green to pink to teal and this polish named after the characters business does the same.  

This was my most favorite color out of the entire collection.  This colors also received the most compliments when I wore it..  If applied over a grey polish like Essie Chinchilly or Nubar Barricade or Citadel this murky gray jelly will really flash that great green and blue duochrome. The formula on this one was slightly thicker than the others but not as thick as To Protect Love, which was mentioned in my other post.

My wear time with these polishes was excellent.  Applied over my Dermelect Cosmeceuticals MAKEOVER Ridge Filler base coat and sealed with my trusty CND Air Dry Top Coat I got about 4  to 5 days wear without any chips. I experienced only minimal tip wear (But I type a lot and I blame my keyboard). 

I am very happy to see a great indie polish creator make a polish without chunky glitters.  I still love my indie glitters but I think the market is flooded and my nails can't handle the Foil Method Removal all the time.  I think it's great that Lilacquer Polishes has managed to produce something very different from what is on the market at this time. 

Do You NEED these?  YES!  If you are a duochrome junkie like me, you NEED these. A 15 ml bottle retails for $9 on the Lilacquer Polishes etsy store.  You can follow Lilacquer on Facebook for information, updates, restocks, and other information.  The owner is very nice and I think you will be satisfied with any purchase you make from her.

Check out my 1st review of 4 MORE colors from The Fifth Element Collection HERE!

Lilacquer Polishes: The Fifth Element Collection Part I - Review, Pictures, Swatches

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 When I was contacted by Lilacquer Polishes to review the new Fifth Element collection I JUMPED at the chance. 1) Because I LOVE The Fifth Element movie.  It's one of the best movies EVER!  A great cast: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. A Great Director/Writer: Luc Besson. A GREAT Costume Designer: Jean-Paul Gaultier. How could anyone NOT like this movie? (That's a rhetorical question, I don't need your reviews of this movie in the comments section.)  and 2) Because I am addicted to duochrome polishes!!!  Seriously. I love them more than any other polish ever. More than HOLOS!!!.  

But back to The Fifth Element for a second.  One of the best things about that movie?  Zorg's Secretary.  (Gary Oldman is Zorg) Zorg's secretary has the neatest invention ever. I'm looking forward to the 23rd century solely for this device.

Automatic Nail Polish Changer!  Just put your finer into something that looks like a portable pencil sharpener and viola! New color expertly applied to your nails.  Screw having a Jet Pack by the 21st century WHERE IS MY AUTO NAIL POLISHER?!

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Moving on.  So Lilacquer Polishes is an independent brand. AKA Indie Brand, and UNLIKE a lot of indie brands Cathleen, the owner of Lilacquer, specializes in duochrome polishes.  Everything she releases has duochrome pigments in them.  This is her second collection, and it's significantly different from the first.  Her first release was a set of sheer polishes only for layering, this second release is able to be opaque on their own in two to three coats.  The Fifth Element collection shows duochrome on their own, albeit more subtle, and they flash a very nice duochrome when worn as one coat over a black creme. 

 OK On to the polishes!

Leeloo Multipass

Leeloo Multipass, named after one of the awesome memes from the movie "Multi-Pass". It is an exquisite neon orange jelly with a bright pink contrasting shimmer that shifts to a complimenting orange. It looks sheer with the 2 coats applied but a 3rd coat this baby is opaque with no visible nail line. (Picture shown with 2 coats). I think this one would make an awesome pedi color or look fab over a light pink creme or salmon colored creme.  The formula was fluid and neither too thin nor too thick.

To Protect Love.

To Protect Love is described as a peach jelly with gold, orange, and green shimmer. I didn't see the green shimmer very much but the peach and gold were so unbelievably pretty and delicate this would have been one of my favorite polishes.  I use the phrase "would have been" because this polish UNLIKE all the others in this collection was rather thick. It got clumpy on my longer nails.  When I applied it to shorter nails I didn't have a problem. I don't know if that is the formula or the brush. But I would still buy a full size bottle and just add a drop of thinner.

Roo-Bee Rhod

Roo-Bee Rhod is named after the fabulous and over the top character Ruby Rod from The Fifth Element Movie. This character played by Chris Tucker is almost impossible to understand (because of all the 23rd century slang) and he talks incredibly fast. But what's awesome about the character is that he's a Radio DJ!  DJ's in the 23rd century?  Humm. Anyway. The polish called Roo-Bee Rhod is a red and burnt orange shimmer that flashes gold and yellow.  

There's also some pink metallic in there too.  The formula was awesomesauce, applied well, and flashed beautiful colors whenever I moved my hands.  I think this color would look amazing on darker skin tones, as I think I'm slightly too light and too pink to pull this color off all the time.

Fhloston Paradise

Fhloston Paradise is a beautiful and girly bright magenta pink with sky blue highlights.  This polish is named after the space cruise ship that Leeloo (Milla Jovovich;s character) and Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis' character) have to ride on in order to save the world.  The Fhloston Paradise polish is opaque after only 2 coats and wears like a champ.  I had no issues with the formula. It applied smoothly and looked amazing. 

There are four more polishes to bring you, but instead of having an incredibly picture heavy post I thought I would break it up a bit.

My wear time with these polishes was excellent.  Applied over my Dermelect Cosmeceuticals MAKEOVER Ridge Filler base coat and sealed with my trusty CND Air Dry Top Coat I got about 4  to 5 days wear without any chips. I experienced only minimal tip wear (But I type a lot and I blame my keyboard).  

I am very happy to see a great indie polish creator make a polish without chunky glitters.  I still love my indie glitters but I think the market is flooded and my nails can't handle the Foil Method Removal all the time.  I think it's great that Lilacquer Polishes has managed to produce something very different from what is on the market at this time.  

Do You NEED these?  YES!  If you are a duochrome junkie like me, you NEED these. A 15 ml bottle retails for $9 on the Lilacquer Polishes etsy store.  You can follow Lilacquer on Facebook for information, updates, restocks, and other information.  The owner is very nice and I think you will be satisfied with any purchase you make from her.

Check out my 2nd review of 4 MORE colors from The Fifth Element Collection HERE!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Phyrra shares her picks for the Best Wordpress Plugins for Beauty Bloggers.

Ever wanted to know how to make a cheap and simple palette? Check out Midnight Violets straightforward DIY post!

Hate purchasing without a lip swatch? Check out the Revlon Balm Stain megapost on My Lips But Better.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed travels all the way to Germany to polish up her nails for the fall - okay, maybe not but she does swatch some of the OPI Germany Fall/Winter 2012 collection so check it out!

Benefit Cosmetics is kicking class, with a slew of awesome new palettes. Check out the details, over at Krasey Beauty.

Short and wimpy lashes everywhere can celebrate--Find out how Angela's lashes become sky-high with Marcelle Xtension Plus mascara on Do Want Makeup.

Looking for a bright, poppy summer blush? Have a peek at Illamasqua Hussy Blusher at Adorable On Your Vanity & help yourself from falling in love!

The Pink Sith uses the entire soundtrack from The Little Mermaid to talk about Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream Nail Lacquer.

The latest skirmish in the Makeup Wars is The Battle of the Summer Lippie. Prime Beauty's soldier in this battle is YSL's Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain in #15-Rose Vinyl. Find out how she fared and check out the other warriors entries.

Are you ready for festival season? Check out Rae's floral braided hair tutorial and storybook daisies makeup look over at theNotice to add a bit of colour to your summer.

Beauty Reflections thinks these mark. Make It Rich Lip Crayons are as good as NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils!

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It's summer giveaway time! Enter to win an Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette from Audrey Dao!

Want even more BBLL?  Check out more links HERE

The Lipstick League - week of 7.23.12

Question of the Week: - If, for one month, you could only use one brand for ALL of your makeup needs, which brand would you choose?

Answer: - I would have to go with Chanel because I know one of their foundations works for me, the Blushes are awesome, the shadows rock, the mascara is decent and the lip products are superb. 

What about you?  Leave your answer in the comments section!

Vampy Varnish - Love plump, shiny, saturated lips? Then you'll love the new Buxom Full-Bodied Lip Glosses this season.

we heart this - Do you really need another product with Argan Oil? If it's Moroccanoil, the answer is yes.

Clumps of Mascara - is giving away a pretty awesome beauty bag. You'll definitely want to get in on this one.

Gouldylox Reviews - If you want to slim your face and jawline in a hurry, this will do the trick. It's not permanent, but in a pinch it will work. (And it feels great.)

Nouveau Cheap - Do I love the new L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream? Do I hate it? Am I on the fence? Come see for yourself.

Pink Sith - wouldn't be LION if she told you the brushes from the Japonesque Safari Chic Set are PURRfect!

Prime Beauty - asks Hot weather making you melt?  Cool off and perk up with Laura Mercier's Tone Perfecting Eye Gel!

Phyrra - lets her skin shine through with Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Foundation. See why she loves it!

Guest Post of the Week, as chosen by Vampy Varnish - Jessica from Beautezine is one of my favorite bloggers (and people!) and she's got the new fall goodies from Yves Saint Laurent covered!

Beauty Spotlight - Modesty Brown: What's in My Mum's Perfume Archive?

Modesty Brown loves nothing better than a good snoop. On a visit to her Mother's house earlier this year, she went on a scouting expeditions and unearthed three generations worth of perfume. It's an eclectic mix of old and new, including some memorable old favorites. Let's pay Modesty a visit to find out what's in her Mum's Perfume Archive.

Click on link above or image to go to the post.

Foundation Fridays: Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation - Review, Pictures, Swatches

image from sephora.com

It's Friday! That means it's Foundation Fridays time! Today I bring you Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation with AmazingConcealer Technology.  Whoof. That's a mouthful.  I was very excited when this came out as I used to be a big fan of the concealer. I have moved on to other concealers now, not because the Amazing Cosmetics Concealer was bad, but because there are other concealers in the world. I can't stay faithful!  However, I am confused by the foundation. All the marketing materials tell me that it's really going to work for me.  The Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation is touted as being Lightweight, Water Resistant, Oil Free, Luminous Finish, Non Comedogenic, eliminates pores and fine lines, etc..  All sounds great right?  Well that's not exactly how it went for me.

This foundation from Amazing Cosmetics reads like a it's a BB Cream. 

"5-in-1 Formula improves skin’s appearance and health
Refinish: AmazingConcealer Technology eliminated the appearance of
pores and fine lines
Renew: Over 80 Essential Vitamins and Minerals nourish the skin for visibly improved tone and increased radiance
Restore: Performance Peptide Complex stimulates collagen and elastin production for visibly firmer skin
Protect: Anti-Oxidants and SPF 15 defend skin from damaging environmental factors like free radicals and UV rays
Hydrate: Cassia Angustifolia acts as a moisture magnet, for up to 24 hours of hydration"

That's a lot of promises for a simple foundation. Part of me wonders if it really is a BB cream with an extended shade selection and Amazing Cosmetics just didn't want to call it a BB cream because they worried that most consumers wouldn't know what it was. 

Amazing as that formulation sounds, my experience was anything but "amazing".  I fear writing this review because of most of the reviews I saw on line are fairly positive. My experience was not.  Here's why:

• Refinish: AmazingConcealer Technology DID NOT eliminate the appearance of pores and fine lines. In fact it actually emphasized them. The foundation settled into my pores upon application. Granted I was not using a primer, but this said it wouldn't ever do that. Even when I used a primer the foundation settling into pores and fine lines still occurred.
• Renew: The 80+ Essential Vitamins and Minerals did nothing for my skin. It was not firmer after use. It was not radiant nor even in tone.  I used this foundation for 15 days (which isn't very long, I know) and the only thing I received was breakouts from the chemical and/or physical sunscreens included in the formula. That's my personal sensitivity issue and should not be entirely blamed on the foundation itself.
• Restore: Whatever "Performance Peptide Complex" was in this foundation did nothing to help my skin look visibly firmer.
• Protect: The Anti-Oxidants and SPF 15 to defend skin I really can't complain about. SPF is always good.  Except for the fact that my sensitive skin suffers breakouts from certain sunscreen ingredients.  But again, that's a unique quality of my special snowflake skin and should not happen to most people.
• Hydrate: Cassia Angustifolia acts as a moisture magnet.  I must be mistaken because I thought Cassia Angustifolia (A.K.A. Senna) was a laxative or diuretic used in herbal remedies in the Middle East and India. How that relates to moisture I have no idea.  This foundation did feel very sticky on my face tho, so maybe it does work that way.  Oh wait. Having a sticky foundation is NOT a good thing. I forgot*  (*no I didn't)

Aside from the above issues I also found the coverage of the Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation to be extremely sheer. One could almost say this was about as sheer as a tinted moisturizer.  The foundation is touted as having a sheer but buildable formula.  I did not find this to be true.  OK. It was sort of true.  The formula is indeed sheer. Too sheer to cover post acne scars and current blemishes. So I followed the suggestion on the packaging that said apply with a brush or cosmetic sponge and layer for more coverage.  That ended up looking like a caked on blotchy mess.  Seriously. The Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation was not buildable on my skin.

The consistency of the Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation is that of a cream, not liquid at all. It looked almost like an air whipped creme. It comes in a tube and you squeeze out as much as you need for a full face. The creme looked gritty, but didn't feel gritty.  When applied, it looked incredibly streaky and it needed work to make it look more even.  Oh and that's another thing. I found, I needed A LOT more of this foundation than I normally would of most other foundations.  I think I would need a new tube every month if this was my only foundation.  That would be rather expensive since it's $36 for a 1.18 oz tube at Sephora, Ulta and AmazingCosmetics.com.

As far as the color match goes. I picked the 2nd lightest shade in Fair.  The lightest shade, Ivory was actually too pale for me! There are 10 shades total for this foundation which has a pretty decent range in the darker shades for women of color.

Do you NEED this?  Well I think on this one I'm going to have to say I don't know. I think it was my special snowflake skin that just didn't get along with this foundation.  If you have slightly drier to combination skin, invisible or small pores, require sheer coverage,  and don't have reaction to higher levels of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide then this might be the one to try.  That's a lot of "ifs".  OK. You don't NEED this at all. What NEEDS to be done is have the Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation reformulated, retooled, redone, and recalled.

Let me know if you have tried this and had a different (read: Better) experience with the Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Liquid Foundation.  If you can also describe your skin type, that would be helpful to me and other readers.  Thanks!

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Thursday Poll

I really love road trips. In the US, long drives in the car are a way of life.  The country is rather large and since our rail system is so inferior when compared to Europe or Japan, Americans resort to driving in cars.  Mr. Sith and I love road trips together. We went on a road trip from San Francisco to LA for our honeymoon.  I love eating at local restaurants, exploring small towns, listening to music in the car, talking about anything and everything.  That is used to love road trips...until I had the bright idea to bring my dog Floydiepie on a recent 10 hour road trip to visit family.  It didn't help that Darthypie is 5 years old and much better at verbalizing his displeasure with having to sit in a car seat for 10 hours.  Not one hour and 24 minutes into our 10 hour drive did Darthypie ask the universal question: "Are We There Yet?".  This kid had a DVD player, coloring books, toys, snacks, video games, you name it, and he was bored one hour and 24 minutes into the drive.  Ugh. If he only knew how boring long drives in the car used to be when I was growing up.  Of course I wasn't strapped into a car seat. In fact I wasn't strapped in at all.  (Lucky for me I wasn't in a car accident.) But the dog. the dog was the bigger problem. We couldn't stop in restaurants because we couldn't leave the dog in the car. It was way too hot. In cooler weather we could have (and have) done this. Rest stops were frequent as we really don't want Floydiepie to pee in the car and well...he's an English Bulldog.  He's gassy all.  the.  time!  Thank goodness the dog tried to sleep most of the time...he didn't really sleep as much as he just laid down. but I'm good with that. For the most part our two little travelers (Darthypie and Floydiepie) were excellent during the long trip but it still wasn't super fun happy family time.  Here are a few things I learned from my trip.

1. No matter how many movies, games, toys, snacks you bring, your kid will ask Are we there yet? about 4,959,057 times.
2. Dogs that fart in the house will fart in a car. The smell from that fart will be amplified 4,959,057 times.
3. There are only 2 Sonics between my home and my family's home
4. Sonic Milkshakes are not the be all end all that I thought they would be
5. Everyone speeds on the highways, except for the one car you happen to be behind and cannot pass
6. Everyone is an idiot and should stay off the roads when I'm driving
7. Cops scare the living crap out of me when I'm only going 5 miles above the speed limit
8. Beef Jerky makes an excellent snack
9. I never want to eat at a fast food restaurant for another 5 years.
10. Satellite Radio, iPads and portable DVD players are awesome inventions and I love them very much

So yes. I survived the long drive. I will do it again, (probably without the dog just so I can eat something that isn't fast food on the road) and There's no place like home.

On To The Poll!

1.  Lip Of The Day? - Dior Addict Extreme Lipstick in Incognito #316. It's more pink on me than in the photos I took. I think the lip liner made it look warmer.

2.  Do you go on road trips?  Do you like them? - Yes and Yes

3.  Current beauty lemmings? - about 3 different Armani ETKI shadows, the new Guerlain Rouge G L’Extrait from the Fall 2012 collection, The Chantecaille Limited Edition Safari Collection L'Elephant Palette,

4.  Where was the last place you visited? - Western North Carolina

5.  Have you or do you plan on returning any makeup/beauty products lately? - I plan on returning the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. It did nothing for me and at $52 an ounce it better do SOMETHING!

Rant

image from http://funnyphotosto.com

I wanted to talk about the whole Revlon/Sinful Colors Nail Polish debacle.  Here is the Change.org Petition about it.  And here is the reddit article about it. Also a blog called Nailed It has a good article about it. Other stories by the Bloggers themselves have been taken down until the situation has been rectified. What basically happened is that 2 independent nail polish bloggers (from outside the US) had their images allegedly stolen by a firm that made marketing material for a nail polish company called Sinful Colors.  The marketing material gave no credit to the bloggers whose images were used, removed watermarks from the original images, misrepresented their own brand by using images of nails that were not painted with Sinful Colors polish and misrepresented the nail art techniques by saying a swirled design could be accomplished via extra polish and a toothpick when the actual image of the nail art clearly shows it was a nail art stamp (like a Konad stamp) used for the design.  There was a big uproar in the beauty and polish blog-o-sphere. There were complaints posted on Revlon's Facebook page (because Revlon is the parent company of Sinful Colors) and many bloggers voiced their disappointment and anger with the 2 companies for such obvious copyright infringement.  I even posted about it on my Facebook page.  Revlon has issued an apology via Facebook and claims they are in contact with the 2 bloggers whose images were allegedly stolen.  Their apology was:

Dear Revlon fans --- We are aware of the issue regarding SinfulColors and are taking steps to resolve this unacceptable error. We deeply respect the rights of our blogger friends and are taking the following measures:
1. We have reached out to the bloggers, Jeanette and Mary, to apologize and quickly resolve the issue.
2. We are correcting any materials featuring the bloggers’ images as soon as possible.
3. We are putting additional measures in place to prevent this from happening again.
Please accept our heartfelt apology and know that we are doing everything we can to make things right.

That's nice..at least they addressed the concern since they are the parent company of Sinful Colors.  Revlon itself had nothing to do with creating the marketing materials.  But what has bothered me the most about this issue is the number of people making statements on the Revlon Facebook page saying:

(Names and Profile photos have been hidden to protect the ignorant)

That's what is really bothering me...well that and the missing comma from Mrs. Purple's statement. This idea that it's "no big deal", that, "this stuff happens all the time", that "hey, the bloggers are getting free publicity", that taking images off the internet that aren't copyrighted isn't illegal and that we should all "get a life". These people and the mo-rons that liked their comments are truly puzzling to me.  It is NOT alright, it IS a big deal and those images were protected under copyright laws regardless of having a fancy © symbol or a watermark on them.  This kind of apathy towards outright illegal actions makes me worry for the future.  This, "well it didn't happen to me" or the "Everyone is doing it anyway" attitude is the reason that so many things in the world are broken. Just because it didn't happen to you, doesn't mean it won't affect you. When did it become every "man for himself"? What happened to community?  Those that retort with, "This kind of thing happens all the time." makes no sense to me.  Murder happens all the time, does that make it OK?  Should we stop prosecuting people for murder because it's so common?  Bank Robberies happen all the time. Should we stop jailing the thieves because, well, it's gonna happen anyway?  Of course not! That's NOT how this world should be. It makes me sad that there are people out there that think a bloggers photos are "free" and that bloggers should be happy for the traffic. I can't pay my mortgage with unique page views from my blog. Most importantly, when you photoshop out the watermarks and don't credit the bloggers in the first place how is it supposed to drive traffic to their blogs?  

I really don't know where I'm going with this other than to say how deeply saddened I am that there are people out there that think it's no big deal and that just don't care.  Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations of people understanding that this kind of thing is wrong. Perhaps it is "every man for himself."  That would explain the ridiculous sense of entitlement I see by people on the internet. It would explain the increasing inability to accept personal responsibility for ones own actions.  When did we as a society become so disconnected from empathy and compassion? 

Japonesque Safari Chic Brush Set - Review, Pictures

image from ULTA.com

Safari inspired prints are the hot thing on the fashion CATwalks. Anything from Zebra to Leopard to Tiger is "IN"!  You see these prints in clothing CATaloges, at the malls and everywhere in between.  The CATalyst for this look is easy to figure out. Everything old is new again.  In addition, these kind of Safari chic prints always make a comeback in summer. So it come as as no surprise that Japonesque has made a mini brush set that is worthy of carrying the CAT inspired print right into the fibers of the brush!

The Safari Chic brush set comes packaged in a well made, small and PURRse friendly fabric case. It has a top that flips over to protect the precious brushes.  The case holds three short handled brushes.  A Powder Brush, a Shadow Brush and a Crease Brush.  PURRe synthetic fibers makes this a cruelty free and vegan friendly brush set as well as making them CATegorically the softest set of brushes I own!

The large Powder Brush is so soft on your skin as it deposits just the right amount of loose or pressed powder to keep your complexion even and shine-free. I am currently using this as my brush for my Lacome Dual Finish Powder foundation. It provides wonderful even coverage. It's performance has CATapulted this to the top of my powder brush collection.

The Shadow Brush is great for a wash of color covering lids with my favorite shades (usually taupe).  The very soft and slightly fanned out brush holds onto the powder well and deposits it onto my eyes with minimal fallout or mess. I was worried because this brush is so large that it would make a mess out of my shadow application, but so far so grrrreat!

The PURRpose of the Crease Brush is evident by its name, but I found it too wide to work in colors for my crease.  That doesn't mean it's not a good brush. It's still as wonderful as the shadow brush and I use it for a slightly more precise application of color to my lower lids and also for blending the crease color with my lid color.  It's a pretty great blending brush if I do say so meowself!

Overall I think the brushes in this set are really great. I think both shadow brushes are larger than I am personally used to, but the synthetic fibers are durable and hold powder until pressure is applied for precise application. The brushes wash and dry easily without any color fading or transfer.  Stainless steel construction on the brush bases makes them durable and long lasting.

Japonesque CATers to professionals and novices alike by creating fantastic products that are reliable and easy to use.  The Safari Chic Brush set is well made, light in the hand and compact enough for travel.  I actually wrote a poem to my Japonesque #333 powder brush a few years back. That brush is still going strong and looks as good as new.  Makeup brushes are an investment.  You should only have to replace them after several years of use, if ever.  While the The PURRist may not appreciate the multi-colored fibers in the brush, they will appreciate the excellent craftsmanship and quality.

Do you NEED this?  YES. It would be a CATastrophe to pass this set up! I think you might love the Japonesque brushes so much you'll PURRge all your old brushes and replace them with Japonesque!  That's how good they are.  You can PURRchase this for $29.95 at ULTA, Dermstore and other retailers.

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