Happy Birthday to me + St. Patrick's Day inspired mani

Greetings to all the Irish community on the web & everyone else who celebrates St Patrick's!

Today is my birthday. Strangely (and sadly) I might not do anything special, no celebration, no cake, no going out; not sure about gifts either.  I'm going to stay home, probably catching up on my favorite tv shows and scheduling posts.

Anyway, here is the mani inspired by this festive occasion!  I used quite a few nail polishes and some acrylic paints too.

outdoors, no flash

indoors, no flash

my favorite part was the design on my thumb

What I used:

pinky

Avon Jade, white acrylic paint, Sinful Colors Innocent & Exotic Green.

ring finger

Sinful Colors Cinderella, Kleancolor Chunky Holo Teal, rhinestones to simulate a rainbow.

middle finger

Sinful Colors Cinderella, Kleancolor Chunky Holo Teal, black acrylic paint topped with China Glaze Agro and gold round glitters to simulate a pot of gold.

index

Avon Jade, green and green glitter acrylic paints.

thumb

Bettina Ortencia, Kleancolor Holo Yellow, green acrylic paint glitter, Orly Monster Mash and heart shaped glitters to simulate a clover.

Avon Lipstain Marker

Since I started selling Avon I've had the opportunity to try more of their products. I mostly do when I order mini samples for my customers.  This minis are great because you not only can get customers hooked on new products, but to have the chance to try it free before committing to buy full price.

In the case of the Lipstain Marker I ordered in an introductory price before it officially launched to see if it was something I would recommend to my customers.  This was the first lipstain I've tried from Avon and I wasn't disappointed.

It takes very little effort for the color to show on your lips and that is a very good thing.  My lips are naturally very pigmented and the two shades I own looks almost identically on my in pictures, but in person I can tell the difference.  The color last very, very long time; I was really impressed because I don't need to reapply after eating or drinking.  Another good thing: is pigmented and long lasting but there's no transfer.

Like with any lipstain of any brand I've tried so far (including Benefit benetint) my lips get super dry if I don't apply a lipbalm first.  For now, the only come in 4 shades.  I hope Avon adds new shades and maintain it within their regular collection.  Regular price is $9 but in most catalogs you can get it on sale for $4.

Jade

Move aside Sinful Colors Mint Apple; I've found my new favorite mint green polish -

Avon Nailwear pro in jade! its as a creamy and smooth finish and dries fairly fast, which I love :D

I messed my ring finger nail a bit and didn't notice until the next day but I was so happy with the color that it didn't bother me.

silver shatter over matte

This is quite an old notd, I totally forgot about it.
This was my first time using a matte polish, Avon matte enamel in Violetta with a silver shatter from Icing over it.  I love this combo! It looked amazing all matte but I forgot to take pictures before the top coat.

Had a hard time pairing the silver shatter with other polishes but over a matte it works like a charm. The consistency of the shatter is very weird, almost like wet sand, on the thick side and dries quick. The consistency makes it glop a bit around the mouth of the bottle but you can gently push it all back inside with the brush, close it, roll the bottle and it mixes back with the rest of the polish.

Violetta is an amazing color. Its a vivid jewel-tone purple with very fine blue and fuchsia glitter. I like the fact that the formula is tick, there is no streaking and dries pretty fast too. I've heard that matte polishes chip quickly; specially this one; so if you want to preserve the original finish I would recommend using a matte topcoat.

Avon satin gel liner

The Avon satin gel liner is the only gel eyeliner I have tried so far, got it like a year ago and at the time I used it every time I did my makeup to go out, but since I found my way with other type of liners this one have been in a drawer for a very long time.

This item has been discontinued, but as for most of their new products I got it at an introductory price of $4 if I'm not wrong.  The shade I got is called black pearl: mate deep black with golden shimmer and it came with a brush. Its also available in a shade called brown pearl.

I had to poke it so sparkles would be visible

No Flash

Pros:
- excellent pigmentation
- great lasting power, didn't had problems with it smudging or fading
- the gold shimmer adds a fun twist but its not over the top. the eyeliner by itself its matte, but the shimmer ads luminosity to the whole look without being loud.
- I've used it on my lower lash line and the shimmer didn't irritate my eyes.
- the mouth of the jar is wide enough in case you want to apply with your fingers when using it has a base.

Cons:
- overtime, consistency changes drastically and it while it doesn't completely dries; it gets hard.
- I didn't like the brush. at first I felt it was too stiff but then realized that if it was angled instead of straight it will work better, even after the eyeliner starts to get hard.
- Avon discontinued it :/.

One last play...before it dies

Its only nail polish, maybe the drama was unnecessary but I couldn't think of any other tittle for this post.
Sometimes before I remove my nail polish, I like to play layering different colors and glitters. Doing so saves me from ending with all nails done in a combo that I don't like and the removing and painting them again. And yes, that is the only reason to show my nails all wrecked LoL

Wet n Wild party of five glitter, Sinful Colors pinky glitter & frenzy layered over Avon SpeedDry+ in strawberry fraise

Notd: Avon mambo melon nailpolish

In the SpeedDry+ collection from Avon I have a new love, called Mambo Melon.  I wish my camera would make justice to this pretty, fresh and tropical color! In person it has a more fiery coral than pink.

As always: pics are pre-cleanup :) Last picture was taken with camera phone, which shows a little more accurate color.

EOTD: Gleam Gold quad

Here is a looks using the Avon Gleam Gold quad.  It took me time to work around with it, specially with the light shades, but finally came out with something that I loved :)

FOTD: 4.21.11

That night I was in the mood for a simple eye look and a bright lip. My intention was to go Pin-up but changing the eyeliner a little bit by going navy blue instead of black and pink lips instead of the classic red. I'm still struggling to cover recent acne scars courtesy of my last period :(

Eyes:
Benefit Stay don't stray
NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk
Wet n Wild vanity palette - matte cream, shimmery pale gold and tan shades
Wet n Wild shimmer pencil in blue

Wet n Wild blue had me at hello palette - shimmery navy blue
NYC white kohl eyeliner
NYX white eyeshadow
Rimmel glam'eyes day2night mascara (lengthening wand)
Mark make it big mascara

Face:
Nivea cream
Rimmel fix & perfect face primer
Benefit erase paste concealer
Revlon ColorStay foundation
Mark matte-nificent matte powder
E.l.f complexion perfection (yellow block )
Markwins pink blush

Lips:
E.l.f moisturizing lip balm
Avon glimmersticks lip liner in pink bouquet
Avon beyond color lipstick in uptown pink

Other Stuff:
necklace from Walmart
top from Marshalls

Avon 24k Gleam Gold quad

This quad was part of a collection launched last year if I'm not wrong, this particular quad was limited edition. They have other quads on the True Color collection that are part of the permanent collection.

Names of the shades according to the back of the quad:

gold frost: pale pink with gold shimmer, it as a pearl finish (top left)
24K: true gold (top right)
gilded violet: plum with golden shimmer (bottom left)
bronze treasure: redish brown with golden shimmer (bottom right)

I think the color scheme works beautifully and the shimmer is subtle, elegant; but wish they was more pigmented.  Despite the fact of the medium range pigmentation, I love this quad and will force myself to create something with it. As a random fact, gilded violet reminds me of Awakening polish from China Glaze :p

Avon Beyond Color lipsticks

I keep finding "more old than cold" swatches in my random folders LoL
This are from several Avon Beyond Color lipsticks.  I like this lipsticks because they are very smooth and pigmented.  My least favorite shade is Chocolate Frosting, I really don't know why I got it????
Peach Daiquiri and Cantaloupe will be a perfect pair for this season.

Mothers Day Gifts? get bundles from Avon!

Mothers Day and graduation season are around the corner; birthdays are always happening! Maybe a giveaway or a swap? Since we are in a tough economy every penny counts. and this beauty bundles from Avon are a nice way to save & to give our beloved ones cute goodies to get their gorgeous flowing ;)

Avon is offering 3 bundles for only $4 each:

Glazewear lip gloss 3 pack: Darling Pink ( I have it & ♥♥♥ it! ), Plum & Mocha Latte

Wash-Off Waterproof Mascara & Ultra Luxury Eye Liner 2-Pack

Glazewear & Speed Dry Lip & Nail 2-Pack : nail polish in Tickle Pink & lip gloss in Ballerina

now a discount code, just in case ;)

Avon Speed Dry+ in Strawberry Fraise

I own quite a few of the Speed Dry+ nail polish, and this hot pink is my favorite shade!
This polishes are usually very opaque and in some shades you can easily get away with just one coat, Strawberry Fraise is one of them. I applied two coats, just to get its true vibrancy.  They dry super fast but difficult to apply when using a base coat.  This particular shade needs at least two coats of top coat, if not it won't last a week of wear.  I don't mind the double  top coating since I love the color, i get tons of compliments each time :)

* pictures taken pre-cleanup 

 

Spring Color Forecast

I confess not to be a strict follower of beauty trends, specially when it comes to colors.  I get what I like and use it for as long as I feel like it, very free spirit ahah!:D
Today I received an Avon newsletter announcing their makeup artist Jillian Dempsey picks.  Last night I ordered another SpeedDry+ nail polish called Mambo Melon and a the pink GlazeWear lipgloss shown in the photo (Darling Pink).

wohoo! they are on sale now!

I've seen articles talking abut orange lipstick & nails for this season, but which are your color picks for spring? 
Do you follow trends or you just create your own?

FTC: not being sponsored