Update

Hello lovely readers,

I'm just checking in since I haven't been blogging much lately. Don't worry. I'm still around. You can find me if you need to. I haven't really felt like going to any of the sample sales this month. It's just not worth it to leave the house for that reason in this weather. Speaking of leaving the house in this weather, I'm very sick right now which is slowing down my testing and writing process. Additionally, I'm still struggling with the polish swatches not being color accurate and while my online shopping addiction has given me plenty of items for haul posts it's just too cold to pop outside to take photos so you'll just have to wait for the reviews. Please bear with me through this awful winter. Hopefully some more polish and makeup reviews will be coming in the next few weeks.

Much love,
Cat

Update

Hi ladybugs,

Quick update post today. I injured my foot pretty badly last night so unless it heals sooner than I expect it to I likely won't be able to run around to sample sales and the like. I was bummed to miss out on the Broadway Flea and there are some museum exhibits I'd like to catch soon but I'm not very mobile at the moment. I'm still in photo-editing hell so there are some polish reviews on hold but you know I'm always changing up my manicures so new reviews and swatches with polishes that aren't awful to photograph should be coming your way soon. I am still testing products but there was a day when I was in a rush and so I tried maybe seven lip products in a row trying to find something natural and wearable that would keep my lips moisturized. Long story (and run on sentence) short, my lips are in the middle of an allergic reaction to one or more of those products or the combination of products. So that sucks. So yeah, in a very short period of time everything has gone to hell. I'm working on getting back on track but I may need you to bear with me for a while because I'm not operating at full capacity.

I love you and hope you understand,
Cat

Vacation

Hello my darlings!

I know it's been a slow July anyway so you probably won't know the difference (I've had photo-editing issues with nail polish and I haven't felt like running around to the few sample sales this month). Nevertheless, I wanted to let you know that I will be going on vacation soon and I likely won't have reliable internet access. I should be back by the middle of August when posts will begin to appear as infrequently as always.

Lots of love,
Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

I know I've been quiet for a few days so I just wanted to let you know what's going on with me so you don't get worried. I'm still busy testing products and coming up with new ideas for blog posts but I'm just not in a place where I'm ready to publish anything right now.

I've run into some bad luck when it comes to photographing my manicures for polish reviews so those reviews are on hold until I can figure out how to edit the photos. It's very important to me that you feel that you can come to me for color accurate photos so I try and always do my best though sometimes there are polishes that thwart my endeavors.

I do want to figure out how to do nail art videos but as of now those plans are still far in the future as I work on my filming and editing skills. My voice also seems to sound horribly unpleasant in recordings so I'll have to work on that. Don't you dare say anything.

I do still plan on writing some book and movie reviews but that's not really the focus of this blog so I'm still trying to get back into the mindset of formal writing and to figure out my tone and voice because I don't want to be too constrained by pseudo-professionalism.

I can't seem to stop biting my lips long enough for them to heal so I can do lip swatches but there are lip product reviews coming. I know it's spring but you'll be getting a combination of dark and bright lippies as I've been holding onto some of these reviews for a while. I know. I'm terrible. I'm trying to stop. There's a reason why it's called a compulsive behavior.

And for those of you who mainly check in with me for my sample sale reports, there just hasn't been a sale that I've found worth covering, unless it's the current 45% off sale at Pearl Paint. I think you have until the 17th. Go now if you're at all interested. I got some sketchbooks and brushes and watercolors. They're mainly for writing and nail art and randomness but I've been thinking about getting back into doing non-nail art related art again. If I produce anything worthwhile, I might stock up my etsy store again.

As always, you can leave any requests in the comments. I love to hear from my readers.

Thanks for reading. I'll talk to you soon (hopefully!),
Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

I just wanted to check in with you and to let you know that I'm still here even though I haven't posted anything for a few days. I've been testing products and drafting reviews as usual but the thing that's really holding me up is being in photo-editing hell. It's like going to the ophthalmologist for an eye exam with the added component of not really knowing how to use the software. I've got a new polish comparison coming up as well as two new Zoya polish reviews. I'm also planning on getting back into writing movie reviews which is sending me into a panic because it's formal writing and I haven't done formal writing in a while. I hope you're all doing well and I'll hopefully have these new posts up sooner rather than later.

-Cat

Update

Hi chickadees,

I've been a little quiet for a few days so I just wanted to fill you in on what's been happening with me. But first, what's been happening with you? Did you have a nice Valentine's Day? Did you stay home watching Neftlix? Did you forget that Valentine's Day happens in the middle of February? I went out (my mistake) and it's completely beyond me why the "most romantic day of the year" is supposed to take place on February 14. What is so romantic about trudging through the slush and ice and falling into a puddle of cold water?

I salvaged the week by visiting the Brooklyn Museum to tour the John Paul Gaultier exhibition that will be closing soon. If you're in the area and you haven't seen the exhibit yet, I would highly recommend making the trip. The lines are long but worth it. I didn't find the actual exhibit all that great. It wasn't organized terribly well and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the set up. There was no journey or flow, no message being communicated. But the actual pieces in the exhibit were gorgeous and thought-provoking, if a little overwhelming after a while. My photos from inside the exhibit aren't very good. If you search around on other blogs, you'll probably find better quality photos. Racked NY has a particularly good post. But I will leave you with one piece I fell in love with. I'm such a sucker for fashion that incorporates wheat.

I have many, many swatches to sort through but there are two particularly pretty Zoya polishes I will be reviewing soon.

Update

Hello peanuts,

I know I've been quiet for a while. My laptop still hasn't been fixed so the posts on hold are still on hold. I am still testing products and working on new posts (and new nail art tutorials... maybe video tutorials?). I haven't posted any new nail polish reviews because I've been wearing the same polish for a week. I haven't posted any lip product reviews because my lips are too dry for swatching and I'm still testing products. I would post hauls but I'm not sure if anyone likes them and besides, it's too cold on my balcony (which is covered with snow) to go out there and take a bunch of photos. I may cover a sample sale soon but I'm not sure if I want to make the trek uptown. We'll see how the weather is in the next few days as temperatures are supposed to drop again. Or rise. Or it's going to snow. Or not. I hate the weather channel.

Lots of love,
Cat

UPDATE: 1/26 My laptop has been fixed!

SECOND UPDATE: 1/28 So my laptop isn't actually fixed because of course it isn't. Sigh...

Update

Hello chickadees,

Once again my laptop has decided to stop working. I'm currently in a hellish Startup Repair loop with no end in sight. Again, what this means is that I'm still testing products but any swatches that are stuck on my laptop are holding up some future reviews. It might take me a little longer to put out new posts if I can't get my laptop fixed but I hope you'll bear with me as I try and get everything sorted out.

-Cat

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. 

Update

Hi darlings!

I'm in an awful mood right now. Yesterday I started having an allergic reaction to one of the lip products I've been trying out. The last two products I tried were a tester of a Laura Mercier lip glace at the recent sample sale I covered and Nicka K lipstick in Amethyst so I'm guessing that one of them is the culprit. This certainly throws a wrench in my plan to do lip swatches so I can start reviewing lip products again. It also means I'm taking a break from product testing as my lips are quite raw and inflamed. Hopefully they'll heal soon.

I'm also planning to film my first nail art tutorial soon which is exciting and terrifying. I'm just going to warn you that it could be horrible as I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to editing and filming videos. We'll see what happens. I still have to try and find a standing table mirror so I can actually see what I'm filming. I might have to take a trip to IKEA.

In the meantime, I have two nail polish reviews that I need to write and a Zoya haul and a Laura Mercier sample sale haul that I need to work on. I'm not sure if I'll be able to cover The X Factor UK this week as I have something important to complete. It might depend on whether the performances are worth writing about. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. I am so grateful for all of your support.
-Cat

Update

Hi chickadees,

I feel like we haven't chatted in a while so I wanted to take a little break from the regular posts and reintroduce myself to you. Hi, I'm Cat. I'm not sure if all of the people who find their way to my page know much about me. Truthfully, I don't know that much about myself at this point. There aren't a lot of convenient labels I can attach to myself so let's not get into all of that right now.

Instead, let's focus on this blog. When I started I was basically just keeping a collection of my random thoughts. And as I got more into the beauty world on blogs and on youtube I started to do more nail polish reviews and more makeup and skincare product reviews. I would say I'm pretty excellent at doing my own nails but I'm certainly not an expert on makeup and skincare. I just share my honest opinion and my experiences with you and I hope that it helps some of you as you're trying to shop for products. I've been experimenting with the kind of posts I do sometimes doing Sample Sale Reports or Drugstore Product Stalking posts or Hauls but since I don't get a lot of comments, I'm never really sure how you feel about those. So I always fall back on my nail polish reviews since those are the most fun and easy for me as I genuinely do love nail polish.

Well, I think that's enough for now. I might check back again soon.

Thank you for reading,
Cat

P.S. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page. There is a link at the top of the screen and I usually put a link at the end of my nail polish reviews. Also, if you haven't signed up for Ebates yet, please consider doing so through the link on the right. It's a free site that will pay you back a certain percentage of your total when you shop at certain sites. I will do a post on Ebates in the future.

Update

Hi chickadees,

Well, I'm certainly feeling chatty today, aren't I? Guess who is having an allergic reaction to a lip product again? That would be me. I don't really wear lip products on the weekends. On Monday I wore Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Red Revival for a Marilyn-esque look and yesterday I wore Revlon Lip Butter in Lollipop. And today I forgot to put anything on my lips. So my suspects are Red Revival and Lollipop. I'm really hoping Red Revival isn't the culprit because A) I've still got a few Maybelline lipsticks to test B) I really like the Colorsensational formula and C) there is a beautiful variety of shades in the Colorsensational line that I'd hate to miss out because I'm allergic to something in the product. Le sigh... My lips are slathered in Aquaphor Lip Repair so hopefully the issue will clear up soon.

-Cat

Update

Hi chickens,

Have you been wondering where I've been? I've been here. Don't worry. I've just been a bit busy with essays and presentations and exams and I haven't been very excited about the polishes I've been swatching lately. And of course, since I did have an exam, I took a week off from swatching and just wore one of my nude polishes. I chose OPI Barre My Soul which I can tolerate for exams but which I don't love. Application is a bit patchy when I'm painting with my nondominant hand and the color is a bit too pink and pale to be flattering on me.

I haven't been getting a lot of creative writing done either, so it isn't as though I'm just neglecting you. I have some essays to write and then hopefully I'll be back on track and back to writing reviews and other random blog posts. Maybe I'll get back into writing about non-beauty subjects. I just signed up for Netflix and I could always be talked into writing some review posts.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in so you know I'm still alive. I'm just a bit busy. But after I clear my slate hopefully I'll be able to be a bit more productive. Who knows? I might even manage to drag myself to a sample sale again.

Talk to you soon!
Cat

Update and Bad Swatches

Hi chickadees!

Have you missed me? I've been here. Life has just been a little crazy with a lot of things piling up lately. Added to the miserable weather and my perpetually average state of health and I haven't really felt like writing posts lately. Also, my lips are back to being dry and awful looking so it really isn't the best time for testing lip products. But I do have some nail polish reviews and I am slowly getting through the makeup I need to test, though with 8 AM classes, it's hard to find the time to apply makeup before running out the door.

I've been keeping these awful, not color accurate in the least swatches from when I let someone do a hack job on my nails at a salon. They're of Essie's Headmistress and I thought I'd just share them now as I don't really like this color enough to purchase it and swatch it for myself. This is three coats. Like most reds it was very difficult to photograph. Outdoors in direct sunlight it photographed much brighter than it actually is. It's somewhat similar to Sally Hansen Red Zin, kind of a muted, medium dark red like a brick red.

These photos are still a bit too bright but this is the best I could do. I know the manicure looks messy. This is what I get for letting someone else do my nails.

These are the swatches that are entirely too bright.

Update

Hi chickadees!

After what seems like forever my lips finally look and feel healthy again. After my last few allergic reactions, I'm a bit frightened of my Maybelline Colorsensational lipsticks. I do find it a bit odd that I've never been allergic to them before and yet I'm apparently allergic to the ones I bought from drugstore.com. I may have to look into that and buy the same color from the drugstore and see if I have the same reaction. But anyway, as for right now I still need to choose a lip product to start testing for a week. I have narrowed it down to these options...

Revlon Lip Butter in  Lollipop
Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous
Covergirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm in 215 Hibiscus
Covergirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm in 270 Spice
YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in 8 Orange de Chine
Revlon Lipstick in Black Cherry

I'll get around to reviewing all of them eventually but which product would you like a review for first? If no one ends up commenting I'll just choose one of these options myself and surprise you.

Update

Hello my lovelies,

Gosh darn it, I'm dealing with another lip allergy. I'd been testing out Eucerin Aquaphor Lip Repair (which I happen to really like... review coming soon) and I finally felt like my lips looked and felt ready for product testing again. Well, I swiped on Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in Fifth Ave. Fuchsia, a color I've been wanting for the longest time, and a day later my lips started to sting and feel tender. Two days later and I'm noticing a little roughness. Hopefully it'll clear up soon. When it does, I'll give the lipstick one more try, at least long enough to do a swatch for you and if I get the same reaction, I'll sadly have to toss it. Or find a way to use it in an art project but I'm not sure how I'd be able to use lipstick. It seems crazy to me that I seem to be having this reaction to Maybelline lipsticks when I've tried them in the past without any problems. Maybe it's a new formula or certain colors? I have no idea. Anyway, if you're wondering why there still aren't more lip product reviews, this is why. I do have some more nail polish reviews coming your way so stay tuned for that. My last semester of college is looking like it's going to be pretty busy but I'll always make time for you.

-Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

My life is a bit crazy right now as I try and wrap up the semester. Essays, finals, applications. Lots of fun. It's pretty much why I haven't been posting for a few days. Also, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be taking a trip soon for about a week, which means I can't cover the Alice and Olivia sale, as much as I'd like to. If this leather bustier gown is on sale, I'm going to be super sad I missed it. 

http://www.aliceandolivia.com/ona-leather-bustier-gown.html

I won't say that I'm going on hiatus as I should still have internet access and hopefully be able to write up at least a few nail polish reviews while I'm away. I have pictures saved of Zoya Monica, Zoya Feifei, and Zoya Storm so those reviews will be coming soon.

Thanks for bearing with me as I get things sorted out,
Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

I pumped out a ton of content this week. But I'm heading into a super busy part of my college semester so I may have to force myself to take a break for a little while. I'm not sure how long it'll last but I'm going to try and commit to getting some work done, as fun as it is running around reviewing sample sales and telling you about all the products I've been trying. I'm probably going to skip my coverage of The X Factor this week. I want Christopher Maloney to go home but I'm scared for Union J. That's pretty much where I stand. I'm sure the performances will be fine but nothing radically exciting will happen. I will try and at least make a recommendation for Music Monday even if I don't do a full scale analysis as I did with "No One Will Ever Watch You". Oh, and if you're not watching The Mindy Project, you really should because it's hilarious and I want it to stay on the air. I think that's it. I'll still be here if you want to leave comments but I'm likely not going to be doing any writing this weekend.

Talk to you soon!
Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

So, I think it's safe to say that my lips have healed after two encounters with a problematic lip product. Since I do have so many Maybelline lipsticks and I'm suspicious about Deepest Cherry as the cause of my allergic reactions, I'm going to stick with other products for a while before approaching my Maybelline lipsticks again. I lost a lot of testing time while I was healing so it may take a while but hopefully I should be able to start churning out lip product reviews again soon.

Thanks for your patience,
Cat

Update

Hi chickadees!

I'm very sad right now. I applied Maybelline's Deepest Cherry when I went out on Friday and loved the color more than ever but from the way my lips are stinging and peeling right now I think I may have discovered what I'm allergic to. Which is so strange because I've tried lots of Maybelline lipsticks before and never had this reaction. :( I may give it one more shot but the direct cause and effect seems pretty undeniable. If I am allergic to this lipstick I'm happy I only payed about $4.50 for it in my drugstore.com haul and not full price.

-Cat