Sooo Pissed!! T3 Pro Blowdryer is Broken!- Rant & Review

So, I was doing my usual blow-out on my hair tonight. I was about 1/2 way done with my hair. I turn my T3 off and set it on the bathroom counter to section off another piece of hair. Got my hair on my large T3 round brush, reached for my blow-dryer. All ready to go, I clicked the power button. Guess what I heard .... Eeeeeekkkkkekekekekekek! What the fuck! I was scared to turn the damn thing back on. I thought it was going to blow up in my hand. Yep, I think the fricking fan broke! So, pissed off! Just so I could get my hair finished, I had to bring out my recently purchased T3 Bespoke Overnight Dryer. Damn that Pro!

Ok, I'm calm now... I purchased my T3 Pro 7 months ago at the Sephora Friends and Family sale. The orginal price was I believe $119.99 and I got the 25% discount + tax, so I paid something like $97.88 for it. I know that is a great price for a T3 dryer, but don't waste your money on this one. It is garbage and tears up way before it is even broken in good. I had a cheap ass WHAL dryer before I bought this one and even though it was horrible for the health of my hair it lasted me 2 years before I gave it away and it is still working for my DH's cousin. Go ahead and just fork out the extra cash if there is anyway possible and get the Featherweight or Evolution. Save your money up and don't get screwed. Don't get me wrong the T3 Pro gave me the best and quickest blow-out I have ever had, but whatever when it only last 7 months.

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MAC To The Beach Collection- Release Date: 5/27/10

For great swatches of this upcoming collection take a look at Karla Sugar's blog here:
To The Beach Part 1 
To The Beach Part 2
Again, I am not affiliated with her or her blog. I just think she takes the most amazingly accurate swatches.Thank you, Karla Sugar!

This morning I called my dear sweet Debbie (manager) at my MAC store in Dillard's and pre-orderd my To The Beach items.

♥ 3 Marine Life Highlight Powders
I order 2 for myself and one for a friend. I am loving the design that is embossed on the powder the gold shimmer maybe a little to shiny for my liking, but no big deal because it is an over spray and will be gone in just a couple of uses. I will say this as well, if you have Hipness from the Fafi Collection you do not have to get this, as they are kinda similar. MLHP maybe slightly more pigmented from what I hear, but I'll let you know what I think about it when I get my order. I already have Hipness from Fafi, but my love of it gives me good reason to get MLHP as well.

As well as Sweet & Punchy eyeshadow. Everyone says that the Sweet & Punchy is so simular to Rated R eyeshadow that if you already have Rated R to skip Sweet & Punchy. I totally agree they are so similar I can't tell the difference in the swatches. Fortunately, for me I will be able to score Sweet & Punchy since I missed out on Rated R.

♥ Firecracker Eyeshadow
I'm on a kick for beautiful shades of orange eyeshadows, and this one is right up my alley. Now, if I could only get my hands on Firespot eyeshadow, which was released ages ago I would be all set. Doubt I'll ever find it though. This one is not similar to Hot Hot Hot eyeshadow, if you are wondering about that.

♥ Sun Rush Lustre Drops.
I know $18.50 for this little bottle seems pretty steep, and it is, MAC really needs to stop raising their prices. But, really this is the most amazing stuff ever. I scored the Pink Rebel Lustre Drops from the first release (Style Warrior Collection) from a nice lady on Specktra. I am totally in love with this stuff, it gives the most glamorous summer, J Lo glow that I have ever gotten from any product like it. Beautiful, just beautiful. I would skip something on my list to get this.

To anyone who plans to get their Marine Life Powder from the Dillard's counter in the Lakeside Mall in NO. Pre-order it now! When I called Debbie told me that MAC had only sent her 6 of them. I ordered 3, so there's only 3 left!!

I will be posting swatches and reviews of each of the items that I will be getting, so keep a look out for that. I will try to get them on here on the release date so that you can take a look asap.

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Sally Hansen Complete Manicure Polish- Guilty Pleasure- Rating: ♥♥♥♥

This polish didn't receive 5 hearts only because of the expensive price for a drugstore polish ($7.50), and of course for the horrible brush that all of the SH Complete Manicure polishes have. If you don't mind the brush or the high price these are perfect. I use a nail polish brush that I bought from Sally's, and next time I buy any of these I will wait until there is a buy one get one free sale.

This is a gorgeous metallic/shimmery (not glittery) shade of antique gold. I was kind of afraid to purchase this one because usually a metallic shade always leaves noticeable brush strokes. So, for those of you who are weary about purchasing these for that reason, have no fear. This polish gives a great finish with very few (if any) noticeable brush strokes. The formula is neither to thick or thin. It last me for 4 days.  I'm sure would last most a little longer probably 4-6 days. If you are looking for a good gold polish that you can easily pick up from your local drugstore that is not too bright/yellow gold take a look for this one. Love it!

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Coast Scents New Metal Mania 88 Palette Review & Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Gorgeous!  I paid $24.95 for my 88 Metal Mania palette from Coastal Scents, and received 15% off my order during their entire store sale a few weeks ago. Like all the other 88 palettes, this palette contains 88 dime size eyeshadows. The size of each individual shade may seem small, but I promise it will last you a long while. I bought my 88 Warm palette 8 months ago and have only made a slight dip in two of the shades that I use often (they look similar to soft brown & satin taupe). There are just so many choices it will take you forever to even use each of the shades twice.

There are several shades from each color spectrum with lots of bronze and gold shades included. Oddly, there is only one blue shade, but it is very pretty and reminds me of MAC's Tilt. The shades in this palette are unlike any of the other shades in any of the other CS 88 palettes. I own the Original, Warm, and I had the Shimmer palette (gave it away). I see very few similar shades in this palette compared to the other palettes.
This palette is called the Metal Mania palette for a reason. All of the shades have a high shine/chrome finish. High Shine/Chrome NOT Glittery. That is important to me. I have been out of the glittery stage for years now, and I'm glad those days are over. Kind of tacky if you ask me. But, my how I do love the high sheen of vibrant colors this palette gives to your eye look.

For those of you who never wear frosty type finish, this palette may not be for you. But, I love it. I always use the Metal Mania shades on the lid and then apply Matte shades from my CS 88 Warm Palette or 88 Original palette to the crease and as a highlight. This way it balances out your look and is not so bling-ing.

The pigmentation of the shades are pretty good. Imo, the color pay off is better that that of the NYX 10 palettes. Though, I like the NYX 10 palettes too. The texture of most of the Metal Mania shades are very smooth and soft. I am impressed. This palette is wonderful  if you you love having lots of choices of good quality eyeshadows for a great price. You can find some of the 88 palettes for a cheaper price on e-bay, but as of now I have not found this one for sale there. It maybe there and I just have not looked hard enough. Really, I prefer to buy from CS regardless of the deals on e-bay, because I know that they are a reputable company and have received wonderful customer service from this company, and have placed countless orders  with them. I say, "better safe than sorry". I will order this palette again from them when it comes time for a new one. Yes, I love it! Let me know what you think of it, and if you will be placing an order for this in the comments box. I love hearing from you.

Click the images to see the big picture...

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Ladies! My Sephora Nail Polish Haul Came Today : )

I just opened my box from Sephora! I ordered 5 different polishes last week and it came in today. All of the polishes are amazing! I ordered Illamasqua's Muse, OPI for Sephora's Leaf Him at the Altar, Ocean Love Potion, Under My Trench Coat, and Metro Chic. I will be posting swatches and reviews of all the Sephora for OPI nail polishes I got today in one post and a different post for Illamaqua's Muse and Milf (which was a gift from my best girlie). I will finish up posting the SH Complete Manicure collection this week, and get started on the Sephora for OPI next week. So, check back for more swatches and reviews.

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Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure- Yellow Kitty- Rating:♥♥♥

This is a gorgeous bright, creamy muted yellow polish. It reminds me of a Banana Cream Popsicle, perfect for a hot summer day. The formulation of these polishes are pretty good. I've had the polish on for 3 days now and there is no chipping. It took 2 coats of polish to get it completely opaque. Though I added a 3rd just for good measure. There where a few things that turned me off about the whole SH Complete Solon Manicure line. The brush totally sucks. Literally, the brush seems to soak up all the polish and no matter how much polish you think is on the brush it's not. This makes for an uneven application. The shape of the brush is another turn off. I think that SH was trying to knock off OPI's brush design, but failed miserably. I don't really care for the large brush design from OPI or SH because I have relatively small nails and I am quite shaky, so the big style brushes don't leave me any "wiggle room". However, I can still handle and achieve a neat mani/pedi with the OPI brush if I am careful. SH tried to be innovative with her brush and did this senseless tapering design on the tip of the brush. I don't quite understand what the point was in tapering the brush. However, I do know that it makes it almost impossible to create a clean edge at the nail bed. One more thing is the price. I paid $7.50USD for this polish at CVS, which is a ridiculous price for a drugstore polish. I could have bought an OPI or Essie polish for this price. So, it boils down to this...If you find the SH polishes BOGOF get the shades you love the most. When you get them home and are ready to do your mani/pedi do not use this brush. Buy a nail polish brush from your local beauty supply store (Sally's) or you can take the brush out of a polish you already have and clean it well with nail polish remover and use that one to apply the SH CSM polishes with. I know that this seems like a lot of BS to have to deal with to use these polishes with good results, but in the case of Yellow Kitty this shade is totally worth it. Yellow Kitty is such a beautifully fun and unique shade. I also purchased two more gorgeous shades of SH CSM polishes. I have Fairy Teal (creamy greyed, teal blue) and Guilty Pleasure (shimmering bronzed gold), so check back for those reviews and swatches.
Love the color!
Hate the brush!

                        (no flash)

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Sigma SS197 Review & Comparision- Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Order this brush now! I'm so serious. This brush has quickly became HG for me. It has beat out all of my other foundation brushes hands down. The only brush that I think might would give it a run for it's money is the MAC180. I really can't even say that for sure, just because I don't have it. Besides the MAC180 is discontinued and there is no telling how much you would have to pay for it if you are lucky enough to find one. Really, just go get this one.

I think that I mentioned in the "back in stock" post that the SS197 is a synthetic hair brush. I must retract that. The SS197 is an all natural hair brush, which is the reason why I would compare the hairs to the MAC180. The hairs on the SS197 are very soft, but dense, so the brush easily holds the shape and allows you to swirl away when applying your foundation. I have been using mine with liquid foundations only. I have not tried to use it for any cream or powder products, and I probably won't just for the simple fact that I already have brushes for those, and I really am only looking to use it for liquid foundation. It's wonderful for that, but I would imagine would also be great for say a powder mineral foundation. I'm not so sure about the creams just because it has natural hairs, but who knows till you try it.

The ferrule of the SS197 is bigger around that the ferrules on the MAC187, 188 and 130. The hairs are also denser than these. Not saying that these MAC brushes are not as good as the SS197 at all. These brushes are just made for a different application. The MAC187, 188, and 130 are made of a mix of natural and synthetic hairs intended for stippling and the SS197 is made of all natural hairs intended for us swirlier. Making the SS197 at totally different brush. The only reason why I am comparing them is just to give you an idea of the size. Now I do prefer the swirl method over the stipple method. Just because it is a quicker application with flawless results. It also seems to me that even if you layer your foundation to archive a full coverage look, with this brush it looks less cakey than when you stipple your foundation. Maybe it's just me?

Last comparison I promise...If you could imagine a fatter, fuller, waaaay softer, natural haired Sonia Kashuk flat top brush you would have the SS197. I have to elaborate on the difference in the softness. The SK flat top brush is sooo damn scratchy. It took me 4 times to deep condition this brush before it was comfortable on my face. Finally, I could use it and the results were pretty good. I just found that since the brush is a little skinny (not as full) that it makes the brush little flimsy and gives a slightly streaky, uneven application. It's just too wiggly, I would say.

Honestly ladies, I am super satisfied with all of my Sigma brushes the SS197 is  just one more great one to add to my list.

I will be posting the comparison pics of the SS197 the MAC187, 188, and the SK Flat Top tomorrow. I don't have the MAC130 or MAC180 so unfortunately I won't be posting those. Sorry. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask in the comment box. I loved to talk to y'all. : )

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Attention!!: Demon Robert 1968 is BACK!!!! Go get it!

For all you ladies including myself who loved the look of Channel Jade polish, but not the price...meet Demon Roberts 1968. It is the closest dupe I've ever seen. DR 1968 is a limited edition polish that was first released last year and now is being re-release May 1, 2010. I passed on  it last year and have regretted it ever since. Not again! I just order 2 bottles. You can order yours by calling 310-271-2100, this is for the boutique in LA. I know that they also have one in NY, but I'm not sure of the number. The polishes are $9 USD ea. & the shipping is $3.95 for up to 5 bottles, then they charge by the bottle.

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