Dose of Lola

Sugar Plum Fantasy is trio of full size polishes available exclusively at Bloomingdales. All three shades are packed with flecked shimmer. There seems to be a lot of that this season with Deb.

4 coats, 1 coat over Illamasqua Boosh

Deborah Lippmann Sugar and Spice is a mauve base with mainly copper and blue shimmer. It's very sheer, so I layered it over a black as well. I'm just not a fan of this. I don't understand the color combo.

4 coats, 1 coat over Milani Neon Purple

Deborah Lippmann Sugar Shack was also very sheer, so I showed it layered as well. Sugar Shack is a purple base with mainly pink and blue shimmer. The simmer overwhelms the pretty purple base a bit, but layering over a darker purple would problably make it look closer to the bottle color.

2 coats

Deborah Lippmann Sugar Rum Cherry is a rosy copper shimmer. It's definitely the most dense of the bunch.

The formula on all of these is quite nice. I had no issues with the application.

Overall, I don't really love this set. The colors all kind of look the same, and the shimmer is pretty garish to me. I much prefer the Rock This Town trio.

The Sugar Plum Fantasy trio retails for $42 and is available exclusively at Bloomingdales.

19 October 3 comments

Is it just me, or has Deb released a boatload of new polishes for Holiday 2012? I've counted five trios and two singles. Yay for lots of choices, but my wallet kind of hates her. Moving on.

2 coats, with top coat

Deborah Lippmann Cleopatra In New York is a black jelly base with gold hexes (small and mini). The glitter isn't too yellow or garish, and the black base is jelly enough to add depth. I kind of love it.

The formula was just okay for me. Usually, I don't have issues with her glitters, but the consistency on this was thicker than I like. It is manageable, though, and by no means a nightmare. Cleopatra in New York dries with some texture, so top coat is necessary to achieve a smooth finish. It's not a hungry glitter.

Deborah Lippmann Cleopatra in New York retails for $18 and is available at deborahlippmann.com

What holiday collections are you loving?

15 October 4 comments

I love holiday collections because it usually means lots of sparkly polishes. Deborah Lippmann's Rock This Town trio is no exception. These complex flecked shimmers are perfect for the upcoming holiday season.

I left these pics huge so you can click and see all the different colors packed in these polishes.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Moon Dance has an overall greyish purple tone. I love the finish, and this one is easily my favorite of the bunch.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Phoenix Rising is a golden copper shimmer. Very autumnal.

3 coats

Deborah Lippmann Chain Reaction is a golden olive shimmer. So full of awesome.

The formula on these is great. They have a nice consistency and offer a great deal of control. I also like that they're sheer but buildable to full opacity. I see some layering combinations in my future.

I love this set, and it's way more interesting than her fall offerings. I'm happy that Deb has taken a step back from Happy Birthday glitter to create something truly beautiful.

Deborah Lippmann Rock This Town retails for $42 and is available at Nordstrom

12 October 10 comments

This season, Dior has released a collection of nudes that will suit almost any skin tone. There are four colors total - 115 Charnelle, 223 Trench, 413 Grège, and 715 Dune.

2 coats

Dior 413 Grège is a warm tan creme. It makes me think of a classic trench coat. This is the first Dior I've tried that actually made me appreciate its signature secret shimmer (alliteration!). It's a nice touch. After naming Deborah Lippmann Naked my all-time favorite nude, I might be bumping it for 413 Grège.

2 coats

Dior 715 Dune is a deep, grey toned brown. I guess you could call it taupe, but it definitely leans brown. Dune is not too cool, so I could see this looking great on warm, cool, and neutral skin tones. Also, is this not a perfect Autumn/Winter shade? Makes me want to pull on a sweater and some boots.

I had no issues with the application of either shade. I'll spare you my usual long-winded rave about how much I love Dior's formula.

Dior 413 Grège and 715 Dune retail for $23 and are available at Sephora.

28 September 6 comments

Beauty Envy Bag

Are you a beauty sample subscriber? Never heard of the Beauty Envy Bag? That is because it is something new the four of us beauty bloggers decided to put together. The Fall Edition is the inaugural Beauty Envy Bag. This is what a beauty bag of goodies should look like. Full sized items, deluxe samples (not tiny bits of product swiped onto a card), and with a beauty bag so nice you can wear it on a night out. Luxe brands fill this bag. This was a lot of fun for us to put together, choosing items the we have used and love and being able to share them with one of you. This is something we hope to do quarterly, so look out Winter Edition!

Since some of you reading this may not know all of the bloggers involved, we would love to introduce ourselves:

Lakeisha is a nail polish blogger from Florida. She is obsessed with polish, fashion, and merging the two together. She is the blogger behind Refined and Polished.

Latoya is a beauty blogger from the East Coast of Canada. While she loves all things girly, she's also a closet gamer and is a die-hard Walking Dead fan. She is the blogger behind Beauty Obsessed.

Leticia is a beauty blogger from the Pacific Northwest. She is a dog lover, sci fi nerd, handbag collector, and makeup junkie. She is the blogger behind Cosmetics Aficionado.

Lola is a Midwest blogger with a passion for polish, science, and music. She is the blogger behind Burb Beauty.

So what will be included in the awesome beauty bag you might ask? First we will look at the full sized items. These are to accompany the Calvin Klein red nylon wristlet with red leather trim. You can click through each one to read the reviews:

Zoya FeiFei nail polish (picked and reviewed by Lakeisha)

Zoya Natty nail polish (picked and reviewed by Lakeisha)

Zoya Suri nail polish (picked and reviewed by Lakeisha)

Zoya Frida nail polish (picked and reviewed by Lakeisha)

Givenchy Acoustic Purple nail polish (picked and reviewed by Lola)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner in Shade #14 (picked and reviewed by Latoya)

Estee Lauder Pure Color Vivid Shine Eyeshadow in Pop Pistacio (picked and reviewed by Leticia)

And here are the deluxe samples that are also included with bag as extras:

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Illuminating Serum

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Radiance

Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Sparkling

Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara

Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover

Here is what you need to know to enter:

Must leave a blog comment (just one blog, doesn't have to be all four) letting us know what are your most favorite and least favorite things about beauty bags in general.

Additional entries for following each blog on social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Open internationally

Must be 18 or older

Giveaway closes on Thursday, October 4 at 11:59PM EST

Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

20 September 15 comments

I've decided to take a new approach to my stash chronicles. To better benefit you (and me), I've decided to take better, closeup bottle pictures of my entire stash. Of course, this is a project that will probably be never-ending, but I think it will eventually be a great resource. I also hope to have everything swatched one day...

Of course it's easier to start small, so here are my relatively teeny Illamasqua and NARS collections