REVIEW of It's So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott

Hello cupcakes,

Good Lord, why am I being so nice? Well, forget it. I'm out of patience with the It's So Big Volumizing Mascara by Elizabeth Mott. I received a sample size of the product as one of my September ipsy glam bag items. And I hate it. OK, hate is a strong word. I do not like this product and I have no intention of using it again. There. That's better.

Color: I don't know what color I received but it's a dark black mascara. I have no issue with the color.
Formula: Like most mascaras it has a mousse/cream-like texture but I think it's a bit more wet than other mascaras that I've tried and the mascara isn't as thick.
Wand: The mascara comes with a bristle brush wand that curves inwards at the center like an hourglass.

Volume: I found that this mascara offered a little bit of volume if I layered on multiple coats but even then it wasn't impressive. I actually don't think the mascara adhered to my lashes very well.
Length: I don't think this mascara really added any length to my lashes.
Curling: Here is where this mascara really failed. I am still on the lookout for a good mascara that can hold up my lashes after I've used an eyelash curler. I tried this mascara on four separate occasions during October and November. Every single time, my lashes went from being curled to falling perpendicular with my eyes so they stuck out and hit my glasses. I tried letting this mascara fully dry before putting on my glasses and my lashes still uncurled within a few seconds. I tried only using one coat of mascara and my lashes still uncurled.
Clumping: This mascara didn't really cause my lashes to clump together.
Smudging: I didn't experience any smudging with this mascara.

CONCLUSION: No, I would not recommend this mascara. Even if you have long lashes that already curl I don't think this product will provide enough volume to make it worth the purchase.

SWATCHES

X Factor UK Live Show 8

Hello chickadees,

Even though I'm pretty sure the only people reading this are spambots, and not very many spambots for that matter, I will continue to record my descent into madness. That's right, it's the eighth X Factor UK Live Show. Get excited.

The clear winner of round one. 

Nicholas McDonald: For his first song, Nicholas is singing Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars. It seems appropriate for a low-key but generally pleasant and in tune performer like Nicholas. OK, starting off a little shaky. The pitch seems to be all over the place and his voice is cracking. Just get to the words. I wish Nicholas tried more. This is a high school talent show performance. This is not the kind of performance that deserves an arena. The high notes could be better. His falsetto is weak. I'm actually rather disappointed.
Sam Bailey: Sam is starting off with How Will I Know by Whitney Houston. I would have thought that at this point, the X Factor would have run out of Whitney Houston songs for the year. Surely, they've repeated some of them. There can't be this many Whitney Houston songs. I don't remember anyone singing Heartbreak Hotel but no one ever sings Heartbreak Hotel. I don't know if it's the arrangement or the set or the red lipstick or the spangly outfits but Sam Bailey feels dated to me. It's not that it feels cruise ship but she seems like a performer who has already had her moment in the spotlight and is just doing a tour to promote her greatest hits album. The actual performance was not perfect but quite good. Sam doesn't have a natural presence and a magnetic quality on stage but she is a capable performer and a very good singer. Basically, I don't think she has "the x factor" but I'd probably listen to her album.
Tamera Foster: Tamera is singing We Found Love by Rihanna. Again, not an unexpected song choice but one that should suit her. I hate her outfit. Seriously, who is dressing the contestants? The vocals were a little weak in spots. It wasn't a trainwreck but there wasn't that spark to make it interesting. She didn't do anything exceptional with the performance or her vocals.
Luke Friend: Luke is performing Skinny Love by Bon Iver. It's at this point that I realize I don't know who Luke is as an artist. Is he rock or is he acoustic guitar? But I don't really care so let's just evaluate the performance. The vowels are a little piercing for a guy with a guitar. You know these kinds of songs really reward performances who appear to let down their emotional barriers and do something genuine even if those performers didn't write the song and have zero emotional connection to it. If you do it right and fake it well, you seem like an "artist." That is not Luke Friend. It's not awful but not for one second does this performance come across as genuine. But after the last three acts, I have low standards for this round so Luke will rank high.
Rough Copy: Rough Copy are singing a mashup for the first round. I was a bit confused until I went to the wikipedia page and discovered that everyone is not performing the song voted on by the fans for the first round. I'm pretty sure I don't know either of these songs but I can still tell that they were a bit out of breath from all the words and not giving it their all on the vocals. They really need the background vocalists. Things are not looking good for Rough Copy unless people just insist on voting them through regardless of how well they perform. Which is entirely possible. I mean, Abi Alton.

First Round Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Sam Bailey
2. Luke Friend
3. Tamera Foster
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

The clear winner of round two.

Nicholas McDonald: The video title tells me Nicholas is singing Greatest Day by Take That. That's nice, I guess. I've obviously never heard this song before unless it was performed on X Factor and I forgot about it. It's still not the greatest vocal performance but it has a bit more clarity and it seems to suit him a little better than Just the Way You Are. The falsetto is a little better but still not great. He's not holding any of the notes. Basically, better than round 1, but still not great. If Nicholas makes it through it's due to his popularity and the strength of his past performances.
Sam Bailey: Sam is singing Clown by Emeli Sande. It sounded vaguely familiar even though I still haven't listened to her album and long story short, Sam performed it at Bootcamp. Sam is doing pretty well so far. She gives solid performances and she's never been in the bottom 2. I'm not sure why they want her to repeat a performance since that's usually what an act does to remind people of a moment when the audience liked him, her, or them. Oh, well. Oh, dear. They've made up Sam to look like someone else. I can't quite place it. Maybe Ella Henderson? I don't know. Either way it's unfortunate. I listened to her Bootcamp performance just before listening to this one. There isn't a dramatic difference between the two of them but there is a slight improvement, so yay? I don't know. I didn't like the choices she made in an effort to make it more emotional. I would have preferred to see her sing it straight.
Luke Friend: Luke is singing I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons. Is this the songs I don't know round? I'm not sure Luke's low growling qualifies as singing. I can't tell if he's going flat or if he's just kind of talking. I think he was a having a bit of trouble negotiating the break between either his upper and lower register or the growling and his regular voice but on the whole it sounded fine. I think I'm broken. I think X Factor has broken me. It was probably awful but I can't really tell anymore.
Tamera Foster: Tamera is singing The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack. Well, she'll surely be better than Matt Cardle, right? It was a little weak at first. A little flat. But it had that little spark in it. It had "the x factor."
Rough Copy: Rough Copy are performing I Believe I Can Fly. I'm in a good mood after Tamera's performance so I'm hoping they'll do well. It wasn't fantastic. The vocals were not perfect. At this point I should really stop expecting their vocals to be any stronger than they are. That said, this is a perfect song for Rough Copy. Not only does it suit their voices but they get to bring in a whole host of backup singers for the second half of the song.

Second Round Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Tamera Foster
2. Luke Friend
3. Sam Bailey
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

Overall Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Tamera Foster
2. Sam Bailey
3. Luke Friend
4. Rough Copy
5. Nicholas McDonald

REVIEW of Joe Fresh Nail Polish in Denim With SWATCHES

Hello peanuts,

Today I have something special. It's a polish from Joe Fresh. Why do I have a polish from Joe Fresh? Well, I first saw some Joe Fresh polishes reviewed on Spaz & Squee and I loved the colors so I ran out to my local store to try them out. That was last winter. Or maybe the winter before that. Sometimes it takes me forever to review things. The three bottles of polish I purchased having been sitting in a box with the rest of my nail polish collection (or part of my nail polish collection, I should say. Don't judge me.) as it never seemed the right time to use them. Apparently now is the right time.

Color: Joe Fresh Denim is a dark blue creme polish. Indoors it looks almost black regardless of the time of day. If you wear it long enough, eventually you can kind of tell that it isn't just a black polish but the casual observer probably won't see the difference without prompting. Outdoors, thankfully, the polish isn't that dark. I would say that it mostly looks navy but it direct, bright yellow sunlight it can look a bit more teal.
Formula: The polish has a very fluid consistency. It is definitely on the thinner side.
Application: Painting with my dominant hand, the first coat glided on very smoothly. I was a bit worried that it seemed quite green but I think that was just because the lighting in my apartment is yellow. I did experience a little bit of dragging but it was very easy to smooth over. My one issue with this polish is that it's somewhat difficult to find a balance between having enough polish on the brush so it won't drag through the last layer of polish and too much polish on the brush because the polish has a tendency to flood into your cuticles. At two coats the polish seemed fairly opaque but upon closer inspection there was some balding on two nails so I added a third coat of polish.

Painting with my non-dominant hand, the brush seemed to be causing some streakiness. It was nothing major but it was noticeable. This time I needed a third coat of polish on all of my nails because of the streakiness. I think this problem was partially due to the brush and partially because of that difficulty finding a balance between having too much and too little polish on the brush.

Wear: Even without top coat, this polish is very shiny. I almost wish I could have worn it without top coat because it had that delicious inky quality that dark polishes have. I only wore the polish for a few days before I got bored with it. I experienced very minimal tip wear in that time and the polish did not stain when I removed it.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish if you like the color. I don't think is a polish you need to own and personally I prefer blues that appear blue all of the time. But the formula is very manageable.

SWATCHES

Update

Hi chickadees,

I don't know how I have a blog because technology hates me. My laptop has shut down. I'm looking into maybe getting a new power adapter to try and fix the problem momentarily. What this means for you is that a lot of my reviews are on hold as all my photos are stored on my laptops. I can still write new reviews and haul posts and sample sale reports if I can take new swatches and photos but it may take me a little longer to get out posts with so many of the posts that I was planning to write on hold.

-Cat

11/29: SECOND UPDATE. I got a new power adapter at Best Buy and I can use my laptop again. This is fantastic news as I have a ton of sales to cover in December including Nest, Tocca, Alexis Bittar, and Alice + Olivia. 

Cosabella November 2013 Sample Sale Price List

Hi chickadees!

I'm just out of the freezing cold. I wasn't able to really scope out the merchandise at Cosabella today because I stopped in an hour before closing while walking my dog but I did manage to get a photo of the price list. I'll try and go by tomorrow to do a full review.

Taupe/Mocha Polish Comparison

Hello bunnies,

Today I decided to do a taupe/mocha polish comparison for all of you. I have a lot of comparison posts planned now that I have a healthy (or rather unhealthy) collection of polishes but this color just felt right for late November. I don't know what you would call these colors but I would call them taupe. Somewhere between gray and brown with maybe a touch of purple thrown in there. I didn't have major problems with any of the formulas but I don't think it's really fair to judge a polish based on one nail so I'll leave my thoughts on the formulas to the individual reviews.

To begin with, I'll start with a key of which polishes are painted on each of my nails. I used three coats of each polish.
Thumb: OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts
Pointer: Essie Chinchilly
Middle: L'Oreal Eiffel For You
Ring: Essie Glamour Purse
Pinky: OPI You Don't Know Jacques

I did choose to add OPI You Don't Know Jacques in with the others so I'd have three "French" polishes but as you can see from the photos it is much darker than the other colors.

Thus, I'll start by discussing the first three polishes as they are the most closely related. While none of the three colors are exact dupes, I certainly don't think you need to own all of them unless you own a salon. L'Oreal Eiffel for You is the lightest of the three shades. It is more of a light brown and has less gray than the other shades. OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts is the second lightest shade and it is much more gray compared to the other polishes. It isn't a straight gray polish but next to the others, you can see how much gray it contains. Essie Chinchilly is the darkest of the three shades and comes across as more of a true taupe with the mix of brown and gray that almost seems to have purple in it.

Essie Glamour Purse is more of a mocha shade. It is just a brown polish and does not contain any gray. OPI You Don't Know Jacques is the darkest shade and is also a brown polish.

SWATCHES

X Factor UK Live Show 7

Hello peanuts,

So you're back, are you? Alright then. Let's get right into it.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Rough Copy
2. Sam Bailey
3. Hannah Barrett
4. Luke Friend
5. Tamera Foster
6. Nicholas McDonald

Nicholas McDonald: I do not like Miley Cyrus. I really do not like Miley Cyrus. I think she has an annoying stage presence and she has horrendous vowels. I don't mind The Climb as a song. It isn't brilliant but it's fine as a mediocre pop ballad. Nicholas is not a bad singer. But when he sings this song, it's just a mediocre pop ballad. In the hands of a better performer, this song could be magic. This is the song you perform so well that for a minute everyone is fooled into thinking that it's a better song than it is and it's actually inspirational. The other issue is that Nicholas really needed the background singers. On his own, he couldn't take the song up a notch. It was noticeable.
Hannah Barrett: If not for reality singing competitions, I do not know when I would hear this song. That said, I've already heard this song way more times than I ever wanted to hear this song. It's not a bad song. It's just that years of reality singing competitions have almost completely stripped it of emotional weight and meaning. She could have supported the song a little better. Just a little more air. It was very good. I just don't need to listen to this version with all the other versions. The only time I really felt Hannah in the song was at the very end. But those last 30 or 40 seconds were not enough to make it special or memorable.
Luke Friend: It wasn't incredible but it was good. It was borderline flat a few times but generally the simple melody allowed him to show what he can do. Admittedly that's not much but I liked it more than I liked Nicholas' performance so... win?
Rough Copy: Yeah, they still sound a bit rough when they sing in unison... which is really unacceptable at this point in the competition. It's not like they're Little Mix or One Direction or Miss Dynamix. They came to the competition as a group. They should be better than this. In his solo part, the one with the jacket was a bit flat. The one with the hat didn't really land those high notes. That said, this was one of their better performances. I think they benefited from a song that didn't overpower their vocals and by not having to run around the set and the performance improved as they went along.
Tamera Foster: Pfft. James Arthur. I saw Shontelle sing this song live in a tea shop. I think this is a perfect song for Tamera. It's a good genre for her and it's big enough to let her show off a bit without being too much for her to handle. I like this song but the original vocals aren't so impressive that Tamera is always going to pale in comparison the way she does when she attempts Whitney Houston, etc. A bit flat. Did she forget the lyrics or did she choke? Oh, good Lord. Girl, get it together. There are seriously not that many lyrics to remember. It's a very repetitive song. What is wrong with you? I didn't really love the vowels when she was singing "impossible". They were piercing in the wrong way. Even without the missing lyrics, there were problems with her vocals during this performance. That said, because it's such a weak showing this episode, she would probably be near the top of the pack if she hadn't forgotten the lyrics. I don't know if she'll make it through the vote this week.
Sam Bailey: I know there are some people who hate Leona. I am not one of those people. Sam was not as good as Leona. There were little weak points all throughout the song where I feel like she wasn't giving it her all. She just wasn't really singing out. This is not a subtle song. Just go ahead and wail away. That said, she did a nice job of managing the high notes and like Hannah, she kicked it up a notch for the latter part of the song.

My general summary of the week was "not impressive but not awful." I was disappointed with Sam, Hannah, and Tamera this week. I would still like to see them continue in the competition but I don't think they really fought for their places with these performances.

See you next week,
Cat

November Ipsy Bag

Hello bunnies,

I'm not really sure how I feel about my ipsy subscription right now. On the one hand, I think you definitely get your money's worth for $10 every month. On the other hand, I'm not sure if I like the actual products. The bag itself feels rather cheap this month. The fabric seems cheap and somewhat flimsy. I think it's probably synthetic but it kind of feels like paper or a cheap plastic tote bag. It's a snakeskin textured gold makeup bag and while I'm not too fussy about this kind of thing I still won't be taking this around with me. But as always, I won't complain about extra storage. I'll probably use it to store art supplies.

I suppose the item I was happiest to see was the Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn. It's not like I need another lip crayon because I already have a few I need to test in addition to the ones I've already reviewed but they are one of my go-to lip products and I'm happy I received red as opposed to any other color. I'll start trying this out once I finish up with my current slate of lip products. They're sitting in a box on my bed like a constant guilt trip. This lip crayon seems to be a bright red with a subtle shimmer but I haven't swatched it on my lips yet (I've learned to make sure I'm not allergic to a lip product before testing a bunch of lip products at the same time).

I was very excited to see the em Lash Gallery Mascara I received until I saw that it was brown. Now, even if I didn't always want the blackest mascara formula in my vain attempt to find a mascara that will make my lashes stand out, I wouldn't want a brown. I have black hair. Oh well. At least I'll get a chance to try the product out. The mascara comes with a bristle brush that is a bit oddly shaped but maybe it'll end up working well for me.

Elie Tahari Sample Sale Report November 2013

Hi chickadees,

Quick post today.

Let me ask you a question. Do you like sheath dresses? Because if you like sheath dresses and you think they flatter your figure, then you will probably have some luck at the Elie Tahari sample sale. I won't bother giving you the basics on pricing as Mizhattan has already written a fantastic post covering all the details. I'm going to talk to you as one "normal" woman to another. I have curves. I have gone up a dress size from a four to a six and an eight in Elie Tahari sizing. I did not find anything that really appealed to me at this sale.

If you don't like sheath dresses, yoke dresses, or tunics, I really don't see the point of going to this sale. The clothing is grouped by size though some things are kind of mixed together. Although I didn't spend much time in the smaller sections, I noticed a lot of 2's, some 4's, and a lot of 6's. This was a true sample sale in that larger sizes were underrepresented but I didn't really think much of the quality of the garments. The last Elie Tahari sample sale I covered had some beautiful, affordable clothes. At this sale I was struggling to find things that I liked. The cuts were just so unspired and while some of the patterns were beautiful, the placement wasn't always great and the fabric was a letdown. I don't know if there was anything that wasn't synthetic, which is fine, but not for those prices when you're claiming to be giving people such a great deal.

The sale was pretty busy mid-afternoon. The line for the dressing room wasn't too bad and service at the sale was generally pretty good. I don't know. The merchandise was just a letdown. 

REVIEW of Revlon Nail Enamel in 571 Posh With SWATCHES

Hello my little aristocrats,

Today I have a rather inappropriately named polish for you. No, it's nothing naughty. I just wouldn't call a bright green polish "Posh." Not to cast aspersions on the brand, but the color makes me think of Kate Spade. Anyway, let's jump right into the review.

Color: Revlon Posh is a medium green creme polish. As a green it leans more towards blue than yellow. I would call it a Kelly green but as we've reviewed on this site before, you could tell someone to paint a room Kelly green and end up with a forest green room. It's bright enough of a green to draw attention but subdued in a way. The color is muted enough to not be blinding like a neon. It's a fun pop of color which is why it reminds me of that kind of preppy Kate Spade/J. Crew style.
Formula: The formula is on the thicker side without being super goopy and unmanageable. The polish was thick enough to cling fairly strongly to the brush but thin enough to not be all that opaque. However it did start threading.
Application: Application of the first coat was smooth but not totally even. I had no issues with dragging but I wasn't getting a perfectly even layer of polish. Also, I got one bubble. When I was applying the second coat, the polish seemed to have thickened and I was noticing that short threads of polish formed as I drew the brush out of the bottle. The threads were short and broke quickly so thankfully this polish wasn't a complete headache to apply but I would not try and work with this polish at all. Do not go over each coat to even out the polish. Use a light hand and you'll get better results. After two coats the polish appeared reasonably opaque but a light test revealed some bald spots and I wanted to cover up some of the bubbles that had appeared so I used a third coat to get the polish to full opacity.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days. It stained a little when I took it off. It was easy enough to remove the staining by going back in with the nail polish remover but I thought I should mention it as a good polish should not stain.

CONCLUSION: I would not recommend this polish. If you are reluctant to shell out money for a green polish, you might want to grit your teeth and attempt to use this polish as it isn't impossible but it's really not worth the trouble unless you really can't find a similar color from another brand.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Julie G Nail Color in Cabana Boy With SWATCHES

Hello chickadees,

I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this review up. I've been having issues photographing some of the polishes I've been trying lately so I attempted a bit more editing. Nothing fancy. I just used Picasa. Anyway, today I'm reviewing another one of the Julie G polishes I picked up at Rite Aid. I had a pretty bad experience with Holla-Peno so I was definitely hoping that was a fluke and that I'd have better luck with Cabana Boy as it's always nice to discover an expensive drugstore polish brand like Confetti.

Color: Julie G Cabana Boy is a medium blue creme polish. It's closest relatives are Essie Avenue Maintain and Essie Butler Please. Cabana Boy is somewhere in the middle. It's not quite a light as Avenue Maintain or as dark as Butler Please and I hesitate to call it a cornflower blue though it is a bit muted and perhaps has a bit of a purple undertone.
Formula: The formula started out smooth but by the second coat the polish started threading. (The polish started forming strings.)
Application: The first coat applied smoothly though the brush was inclined to form streaks if there wasn't enough polish on the brush. The second coat applied smoothly though the brush was still creating ridges in the polish and the polish was threading. It didn't look awful and thankfully it applied much more smoothly than Julie G Holla Peno but it was still noticeable if you were looking closely. At two coats the polish was opaque though a few spots in between brushstrokes were not filled because of the streakiness and ridges so I went back in and did a third coat on some of my nails.

CONCLUSION: I can't enthusiastically recommend this polish but if you think you have good control with polishes or if you just want to try out a cheaper blue polish before committing to more expensive brands, go ahead and try it out. The formula isn't terrible but it isn't great. If you already have a lot of blue polishes or you'd rather spend a little more for a blue with a perfect formula, I would purchase a blue polish from another brand. The color is perfectly dupe-able.

SWATCHES

X Factor UK Live Show 6

Hi peanuts!

Seriously, no one reads this. But that's fine. I just finished watching Haute Cuisine or Les Saveurs du Palais, which is really not the same title at all but who cares? Yes, I'm in a mood. Let's get on with it.

Rankings
1. Hannah Barrett
2. Sam Bailey
3. Tamera Foster
4. Nicholas McDonald
5. Rough Copy
6. Luke Friend
7. Sam Callahan

Hannah Barrett: What in the heck were the dancers doing? Who thought of that? Bad, bad idea. Hannah is fantastic. She sounded great. But I think it was the wrong song. It was a bit low and I lost her vocals sometimes. And it's just not a very exciting song. She did her best during the performance but it's just a very repetitive song and there's not much to the lyrics. That's not the kind of song you do on a reality singing competition. It just isn't.
Luke Friend: He sang Your Song by Elton John. It was fine. Very breathy. Kind of weak. It's hard to impress with a quiet version of this song. At this point I've heard so many versions of this song that I really need to hear something amazing. Maybe Hannah could have done something with it but I just found Luke's performance boring.
Sam Bailey: Is it wrong that I was quite amused to see the video title read "Sam Bailey sings Something by The Beatles"? Get it, "something by The Beatles"? Just anything old thing. This is a reality singing competition. You know eventually someone's going to sing something by The Beatles. Nevermind. I absolutely hate her hair this week. Do they need to work out something with the sound system? I don't think Sam's performance was bad but it wasn't exceptional and the backing track or the musicians were really competing with her vocals. There is zero reason for the drums to be that loud on a song like this. It was a very good performance. Sam is dependable. It just wasn't all that exciting or compelling.
Rough Copy: I've been kind of souring on Rough Copy for the past few weeks. It was fine. I just don't think they're very strong individual singers, I like groups that harmonize more, and they're just not very interesting. The harmonies at the end sounded off. They don't bring anything to the performances or the arrangements that makes me sit up and pay attention.
Sam Callahan: He sort of sang the right notes at the right times? I don't know. It was very weak. I give up with Sam. I like my bad acts to be camp. Not just bad at singing.
Tamera Foster: I really like Shirley Bassey. I feel like I'm going to be disappointed by this. Clicking play now. It was a very pretty vocal, even if Tamera seemed to run out of air at the middle and end of phrases. I just think it was a mistake to choose a song that has been performed by such a powerful voice. If you choose a song by a fantastic singer, you're just setting yourself up for failure unless you can match their vocals or change the song enough to make it your own. Just adding a beat didn't make this a new song. Did she forget the words at one point? Tamera looks like a pop star. She just doesn't have the voice of a pop star. I think she needs some more work with her vocal coach and she really needs to stop singing songs that she can't measure up to.
Nicholas McDonald: Again, pick the right song. You don't pick Someone Like You and then make it sound even more boring at the beginning. It's already a slow ballad. Give it to Sam Bailey and let her belt the crap out of it. Aside from the boring beginning and Nicholas' voice cracking a few times, it was fine. Not exceptional. Just fine.

Well, that's another week of the X Factor. Contestants were bad for different reasons. Some were boring. Some sang poorly. Some forgot lyrics. And I've wasted another hour or so of my life on this. Hooray!

See you next week,
Cat

Waitin by Caitlin Rose Lyrics

Hi peanuts,

Sometimes I'm going to do weird things on this blog, like randomly post song lyrics because I couldn't find the correct lyrics on the internet and it annoyed me so I typed them up myself and I might as well share them with you so the correct lyrics will exist somewhere on the internet. I may also write in run-on sentences. Here are the lyrics for Waitin by Caitlin Rose off of her album, The Stand-In. The song was performed by Clare Bowen as Scarlett on a recent episode of Nashville.

Every heart wants the upper hand

But it was more than I could stand

Said you were running when you hit the ground

Mostly you were just hanging around and

You said love has always been kind to you

Now you know it can be unkind too

Pay no mind when I slam the door

Because we both know that’s what you came here for

Have you been waiting on a broken heart?

Did you see the end from the very start?

I saw it too

I never knew that you were only waiting on a broken heart.

Clock’s always ticking up on the wall

Waiting for someone to take the fall

One hand always wants to hang on

The other one says that it’s time to move on and

True love’s always been such a racket

You try every code but you never can crack it

Cause there’s love that’s new and all the rest

But the love that’s gone baby hurts the best

Have you been waiting on a broken heart?

Did you see the end from the very start?

I saw it too

I never knew that you were only waiting on a broken heart.

Have you been waiting on a broken heart?

Did you see the end from the very start?

I saw it too

I never knew that you were only waiting on a broken heart.

Waiting on a broken heart (with chorus)

Chorus: Have you been been waiting?

Waiting on a broken heart (with chorus)

Chorus: Have you been been waiting?

Waiting on a broken heart

John Freida Full Repair Full Body Shampoo and Conditioner REVIEW

Hello peanuts!

I think I'm finally ready to review the samples of John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo and John Freida Full Repair Full Body Conditioner I received in my September ipsy bag. Now, before we begin, you should know that my hair pretty much does what it wants to. I rarely style my hair with heat or product (maybe five times a year at the most) and I usually just put it up in a ponytail. I would describe my hair as fine, straight, and generally dry and dull.

This product is recommended for hair damaged from heat-styling and coloring, which I don't have, but I was hoping to still see some improvement in the texture and look of my hair as this is supposed to be a "repairing" shampoo and my hair is somewhat dry and dull.

The shampoo is a translucent and vaguely pearlescent gel. It lathers reasonably well if you use enough of it though it lathers to a kind of soapy lather instead of the rich mousse-like texture that I prefer. It has a very pretty scent which isn't very strong in the shower and completely disappears once you've rinsed it out of your hair but it was one of the things I liked about it. The scent reminds me of a particular perfume but I can't place it. The one thing I really disliked about this shampoo was that it left my hair with a squeaky, stripped feeling that made the use of the conditioner a necessary step. It wasn't as bad as the Lush shampoo bars that I've tried but it was still unpleasant and it doesn't seem like something that's good for your hair.

The conditioner is an opaque white cream. It leaves hair with a smooth, sleek feeling but it doesn't detangle as well as other conditioners I've tried. For girls with very tangled or curly hair, this probably won't eliminate the need for detangling products.

As for results, I think this shampoo and conditioner combo left my hair noticeably flat and frizzy. However, I think it may have also made my hair shinier, though that could always just be the change in temperature and climate as I've been using it from late September to early November.

X Factor Live Show 5

Hi chickadees!

Let's see if I can muster up the energy for this. I'm expecting quite frankly horrible things from Big Band week. I'm not a massive fan of this style of music to begin with.

Rankings (in my opinion)
1. Hannah Barrett
2. Sam Bailey
3. Tamera Foster
4. Abi Alton
5. Rough Copy
6. Nicholas McDonald
7. Sam Callahan
8. Luke Friend

Abi Alton: Is she supposed to be Billie Holiday? You're going to need a lot more than a flower to make Abi Billie Holiday. If I'm judging this as a regular performance, it's barely passing. If I'm judging based on Abi's previous performances, it was one of the better ones. It was a good idea to give her the backup singers to fill in all the gaps when she dropped the ends of phrases and generally just support the song so the vocals didn't seem as weak. I also appreciated the fact that she pretty much stuck to the melody this time. She still doesn't have a strong voice. It was just better than it usually is. Her vowels still kind of grate on my ears at times.
Sam Bailey: A bit cruise ship-y. Part of it was the awkward dancing and the outfit. The vocals were great though and I did enjoy her little riff on "blues".
Luke Friend: How is Moondance a Big Band song? It wasn't horrifyingly bad but it was a little rough. Just generally a bit wonky. Verging on going flat, dropping the ends of phrases, blaring out notes in a way that did not fit this style of music. The dancers were a mistake. The scatting was just strange. Let's all try to forget it.
Hannah Barrett: She's singing It's a Man's Man's Man's World. She's wearing a fedora. I'm expecting her to kill it. She does. I believe Hannah when she sings. This song should be on her album. I refuse to criticize her this week.
Nicholas McDonald: I really like this song. But I don't think it's right for Nicholas. It was pretty... but boring. You can't just play it safe with a song like this. You have to sell it. There were little issues with his vocals but they were such minor complaints it's not worth detailing them.
Rough Copy: The performance was kind of fun but the vocals could have been better. I feel like Rough Copy aren't improving but they are an entertaining group. At this point I can't see them making the finals.
Tamera Foster: Oh, here we go. I love the Julie London version of this song so I'm definitely coming into this with expectations. It was a bit weak here and there. I didn't really emotionally connect to the performance but overall the vocals were strong. She really brought it home at the end.
Sam Callahan: Sam is not a great singer. Like Abi, he sounded better than usually does (marginally) and he does a better job of selling a song than Nicholas. That still doesn't make him any good but like everyone else this week, he managed to be tolerable.

All in all, Big Band week went a lot better than I expected it to. See you all next week!

Barbara Bui Sample Sale Report

Hi chickadees,

I headed to the Barbara Bui sale today pretty early but not early enough to have to stand in line before the store opened. Even with that, the bag section was pretty much ransacked by the time I got there. I managed to find a nice burgundy/oxblood/maroon/whatever you want to call it large purse but the selection was dwindling fast and by the time I left there were only about 10 gray clutches, and the same large purse I bought in the same shade, turquoise, and camel. With tax the bag came to about $320, which is still pricey but a great deal when you consider the 80% discount.

I think you will probably have the most luck with the apparel as the belts and scarves were rather uninspiring. I was actually surprised by how rough the scarves felt. The apparel section seemed to operate by the same "take 80% off the price on the tag" rule. I spotted a blouse with this pretty geometric pattern for about $100 but unfortunately they only had L and XS. When I left, there was still a decent selection of clothes (though whatever was originally on the racks in the very back had disappeared before I got there). There were a few dresses and skirts but I would say that the largest part of the apparel section was devoted to pants. The shoe section was a bit of a mess but there were some nice standard boots and dressy heels.

I don't think this is a sale that you need to attend but if you happen to be in the area, the 80% discount is worth checking to see what's left.

I should note that checkout took an abnormally long amount of time. There was only one person working checkout but it took a ridiculously long amount of time for him to write out the items and then do the math on a calculator. I would make some pithy comment amount the state of our school systems but why bother? I've already lost more than an hour of my life.

I got conflicting answers but I do not think they'll be restocking for the next two days of the sale. That means if you're looking for a handbag, it's probably not worth going at this point but if you want to try your luck at the clothes or shoes, you might still find something you like.

The sale is being held in the downstairs area of the Barbara Bui retail store at 115 Wooster St between Spring St. and Prince St. Store hours at 11am to 6pm and the sale will end on Wednesday.

Urban Decay Haul

Hi peanuts!

God damn it, where did my willpower go? I got so excited a while back when Urban Decay posted something on their facebook page about having the Glinda palette on sale as I assumed that the Theodora palette was also on sale and I've been on the fence about getting it since it came out. However, Theodora was out of stock so I did not place an order. And then they posted about their sale section again and I ended up hauling more items that I had originally wanted to qualify for free shipping. Damn.

Before this post gets too salty, I'll begin to get into the products. Now, one of the products I really wanted was the Dangerous palette as it has a lot of the same shades that attracted me to the Smoked palette. Dangerous works better for me as I tend to keep my makeup looks simple so I probably won't be using this palette all the time. I think the packaging is very cute. I like that it's small enough to travel with and secure enough because of the zippered, magnetized bag that I don't have to worry too much about it opening and getting destroyed.

Longtime readers know that I'm primarily a nail polish girl so I could not resist the Naked Nail Kit. I'm excited to see how the polishes will look on my nails though I don't know when I'll be swatching the set as I have so many polishes I need to review.

X Factor Live Show 4

Hi chickadees,

This week's live show was not worth commenting on. I can't even be bothered to figure out how to rank the contestants this week. It was just a sea of mediocrity. This is the only performance you need to watch. You're welcome.