Nothing new to post, so here is something from the archives!!!

I've been having some eye irritation issues (this is like a quarterly thing for me) this week so I wasnt able to even wear makeup until yesterday. So, instead of posting something new, here is an EOTD from a while back. I dont remember everything I used but Im pretty sure it involved Fyrinnae Ink in Makeup Sex as a base and some Archetype colors on top. If anyone is really desperate to know what I used, let me know and I will try to recreate it! Hopefully I will get some time tomorrow night to produce something new :)

Mermaid-ish and Coppery Peach EOTD's

Yay for early release Fridays from work! The only time I actually get around to doing fun makeup. Too bad today was my last one :( Anyways...on to the goods...







used:
MAC Sharkskin as a base
MAC Teal pigment all over lid
MAC Eyepopping in middle of eye
MAC Blue Peep on upper lash line (kinda jacked it up a little)
Archetype Oceans Of the Night in Outer V
MAC Jewelmarine over outer v







used:
MAC Perky Paint Pot as base
MAC Pink Bronze in inner 1/3
Archetype Yowie the Night Beast in middle of eye
Archetype Integra's Dog II in outer v and to line bottom
MAC Blacktrack to line

The story of my second Archetype order...

Two new posts....and all in one day?!?!?! Amazing! So, here is what happened with my second Archetype order. My original order date: May 21st. Resolution in paypal reached: June 30th. My order was received in middle to late July!

Basically after all of the emails I sent Archetype none had been responsed to at the time my money was refunded. Then, oddly, other people on MUA had the same happen but started to receive their orders anyways. The same happened for me! Then, even more strangely, someone responded to my emails about the order and offered me 10 more free samples! I got those about 12 days ago.

All in all, what a weird experience. I ended up with about 50 free samples about 2 months later. Do I feel bad that I got them all free? Somewhat. But was it my fault that they got so behind? No. Would I recommend that you purchase from them? Unsure. I personally think that there is no excuse, other than death or extreme illness, not to respond to emails from customers for such a long time. But, they did do the right thing in the end. Also, I have to say it again...some of these colors are beyond unique and gorgeous.

I havent gotten around to swatching all of the second order, and Im not sure I will for a while so I decided to swatch my favorites from both orders below!


L-R: Conjunction, Papaver Somniferum, Erotic Underground, Savage Garden (looks just like Papaver Somniferum but they are pretty diff. IRL), Deep Sunless Sea, Oceans Of The Night, Angel Of Indulgence





L-R: Alexandria, Sunset Spice, Yowie the Night Beast ( I finally have it!!!!), Valley of Kings, Dead Roses, Call of the Bunyip, Oleander




My absolute must haves are Oceans of the Night (gorgeous deep foresty green with dark greenish teal shimmer), Call of the Bunyip (vibrant pinkish red with a blue flash but it has a coppery undertone and flash) Yowie the Night Beast (love the name the color is pretty too! copper with loads of coppery, red and pinkish shimmer) and Valley of the Kings (foily gold with blue and green shimmer/glitter)

Some HIP Duo swatches and dupes

Finally something new and interesting to post, and time to do it!!!! Weeee! I just want to say thank you to the people who continue to read this and give me support to move forward. Its really really nice to know that some people actually find my pics and info to be valuable!

Moving on to the good stuff...I guess I just had a hankering for a cheap haul so I picked up some of the new HIP Duos at Walgreens for BOGOF. I got Gunmetal, Guilded and Sculpted as well as Saucy from the regular collection. Total of $15 and change. I had purchased some HIP Duos in the past and thought that the quality was great but that I had MAC dupes of them all so I always just used the MAC and put the L'Oreal aside.

Clockwise from top left: Saucy, Gilded, Gunmetal, Sculpted *note, I have not done EOTD's with these so my below reviews are based on swatching only, however I feel I can make a good judgement on wearablity after swatching.



Accidently switched the order on these L-R: Gilded, Saucy, Scultped, Gunmetal


Here I decided to swatch the HIP duos against what I thought were dupes. From left MAC Beauty Marked, the dark shade from Scultped, Fyrinnae Still Breathing, MAC Apricot Pink Pigment, light shade from Sculpted.

Honestly, I think that the dark HIP duo shade is better than Beauty Marked! It was more smooth and the pinkish red shimmer showed up more (couldnt get a good shot of it). Still Breathing has a much blacker base and has redder rather than pink shimmer. Apricot Pink wasnt as close as I thought once I swatched it, its much lighter.



Here are my dupes for the Guilded Duo...dark shade from Guilded, Archetype Ornaments of Gold (there also may be a Fyrinnae dupe, but I didnt have time to look), light shade from Guilded, UD Deluxe in Honey. Honey is way more yellow and less bronze than Guilded. The Archetype dupe is waaaay more sparkly than the HIP.



Here are the duos I had from the past not pictured above...Showy and Roaring. L-R: MAC Parrot, Teal shade from Showy, Blue shade from Roaring, MAC Deep Truth. Basically, if you never got your hands on Parrot, Showy is perfect. I do however like the Blue from Roaring almost better than Deep Truth. Its much deeper and brighter but has less sheen. I've heard its also very similar to UD Deluxe in Adore. I didnt swatch the matte shades in those duos because I honestly dont love the colors.



Here are my overall thoughts: L'Oreal really has some great MAC dupes here. The frostier/shimmery shades are very smooth and pigmented. The matte shades are just ok IMO. But, if you are on a budget and dont already own a ton of MAC, these are really a great choice!

Where am I?

Sometimes I wonder if this blog thing was ever meant to happen on a full scale...First with the laptop fiasco and now I am just so busy with my friends wedding this weekend, work and my own personal funk that I have been in that I just havent made the time to post anything new. I apologize and will try to do better, but I wonder if I will ever post things often enough to keep people interested in coming here...