Makeup for the Lazy Girl or Guy: E.L.F. 100 Piece Eyeshadow Palate (mini review) and Playing with Makeup

The Contestant and Mini Review:
E.L.F 100 Piece Eyeshadow Palette

So I recently purchased the E.L.F. 100 color eyeshadow palette after falling in love with their $1 eyeshadow I reviewed over here.  The feel of the eyeshadow in this palette is exactly like the $1 eyeshadow I bought from them, so if you are interested in that, check out the full review!  I've been watching a lot of eyeshadow tutorials in the past week and so tonight, after spending a lazy day making crafts, I decided to play with my new palette.  I'm pretty happy with it, although I wish it had more bright colors (most are toned down colors or browns and tans), but all in all it was worth the $10.  I have a lot to chose from for future playing around in any case.  The palette includes a small mirror (in the lid), and two cheap makeup sponge-thingies.  I really hate my makeup brushes though, so I ended up using the sponges.

Play Time!

I used my awesome new palette to play around a bit this evening.  I'm not very creative, especially when it comes to makeup (read: same black wingtip eyeliner every day), so I chose a basic watery color scheme and just messed around.  I used what I thought was a bright greenish tone all over the lid (I'm a bit colorblind, so it might not have been!), and then used a bright teal along the crease and up along the wingtip portion of the eyeliner.  I blended this towards my brows.  Then I took the boldest blue and smudged it into the very outer edges of the crease.  A small bit of a light pinkish white was smudged on my inner eye to help make everything pop!

It's a bit bolder and larger than my usual everyday makeup, but I could see myself doing something like it again!  I also had some light pink lipstick that I picked up at the same time as the palette that I tried on earlier today for an endurance test.  I don't think it fits the eye makeup, but whatever!

I'm so snazzy, taking bathroom mirror shots!

Makeup for the Lazy Girl or Guy: China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish

The Contestant:

China Glaze Crackle Glaze nail polish in Black Mesh

The Review:

I've been seeing this nail polish floating around on various blogs and on people's nails in real life, so I've been extremely interested to try it out myself.  The crackle effect looks so crazy awesome, and comes in black, which makes me very happy!  I went to the beauty supply store today to pick up some new top coat, and they had this nail polish on sale, so I couldn't help myself.  I just had to see if it is as awesome at it appears!

Is it long lasting?

I always use a top coat over my nail polish, so I have no idea.  But my top coat certainly is!  If you use this nail polish without a top coat, I am interested to see how well it stands up to the elements!

How does it look and feel?

Totally lava!  

The first downside I've noticed with this nail polish is before I even apply it.  I have to wait for the colored base nail polish to dry completely before I can apply the crackle nail polish!  And if there is one thing I hate about nail polish, it's the waiting!  I'm just so impatient, but since I am typing this up as I am waiting for my base color to dry, I will just have to wait to see if the crackle effect is worth the wait. *wait wait wait*  The crackle nail polish dries extremely fast, and the crackle effect occurs as it dries, so the effect is almost immediate. I put on a thick coat, and the crackle effect turned out pretty large, although apparently a thinner coat will create a more delicate crackle.  The crackle nail polish dries thick also, so it bumps up from the colored base, but I don't mind that so much.  I had to buy a thinner top coat, so the bumps are visible, but with a thicker top coat you might not be able to see these.

How are the price and where to buy?

Well, I spent about $6 on it, but Sally Beauty Supply was having a sale so it might be a bit more usually.  I don't know if you can get China Glaze brand at any store, but a beauty supply store should have it because I think the brand is popular with nail salons.  

Would you buy again?

Yes!  I definitely want the teal-y color to pair with bright pink!  Other than that, I'm not to sure about the colors that they have out right now, but the effect is certainly awesome!

Movie Reviews for the Bad Movie Lover: Flash Gordon

The Contestant:
Flash Gordon (1980)

The Review:
My roommate first showed me this movie, and it's certainly something else.  Apparently quite a few of my friends have seen it, but I didn't know it even existed for the longest time.

How is the overall quality?

All that shiny?  That's all individual beads!

Well it was made in the early 80's, so I cut it some slack as far as video quality and special effects.  Although even for the time, I think they are pretty decent.  One thing that stands out to me in this movie are the costumes.  I wish I could own just one of those costumes.  While they are rather outlandish, as to be expected from a science fiction movie, they are incredibly detailed.  Take a look at the picture to the right.  Not a spoiler since he is on the cover, but just look at his details around his collar.  All of the costumes are like this.  I think the entire budget of this movie was spent on the costumes (and sets!).  The music also heavily plays into how awesome this movie is.  If you haven't already seen this movie, or aren't a huge Queen fan, you might not know this, but Queen does all of the music for the movie.  That's right.  Queen.  It's pretty fantastic.

How are the plot and characters?

The plot starts off a bit slow, but it really picks up towards the middle and end, so if you can get past the boring parts, its pretty entertaining.  We (my roommates and I) usually spend the first half making jokes about the movie, or coming up with our own lines for the characters to say, but we have also seen the movie a bunch of times.  The characters themselves are amazing, even if just for the hilarity.  They're over-the-top and stereotypical, but I think this is what makes them so fun to watch.  There are a couple of scenes that I think make the whole movie, but I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say which ones.  They just stand out as far as how ridiculous they are.  There is action and romance and intrigue, but all are so poorly done that everything comes across as comical.  I definitely watch this movie for a laugh.

Is it so bad its good?
Indeed it is!  The plot and characters are awful, awfully hilarious that is.  The music is fantastic, and the costumes make me want to try to make one of their costumes for myself.  It's best when watched with a bunch of snarky friends so you can make fun of the ridiculous love triangle and pretty much any time Flash is on screen.

So would you watch it again?
Very much so.  My roommate owns it on dvd, so I don't think I could escape seeing it again if I wanted to.  If you haven't seen it, it is definitely worth the watch.

On the Subject of the Blog: Update Days and Hello

I've decided that I really only can update this thing once or twice a week.  I simply can't drink that much, buy that much make up, or watch that many movies in a week to be able to update everyday!  Sorry for the disappearance all week, but I'll be back tomorrow!  I'll try to keep my updates to weekends, but additional updates might happen.

Also a great big hello to everyone who reads my blog from the link I put on my Facebook! (I had forgotten I did that until someone said they read it from the link, oops!)  It would make me smile to know my friends in real life actually read this stuff, so let me know!

Until tomorrow,
The Unsophisticated Dragon

Makeup for the Lazy Girl or Guy: Pinnacle Glacier Nail Polish Top Coat

The Contestant:
Pinnacle Glacier Quick Dry Polish Top Coat

Picture from their website

The Review:

The only reason I have this top coat is because my step-mom gave it to me when I moved out a few years ago.  I've never been one to keep my nails painted all nicely or do a proper job of it when I did paint them.  Recently however, I have been keeping my nails painted fun colors and patterns, so this top coat has gotten a lot of use.  I had never heard of it, or seen it anywhere, so I did some research and I think it is a time for a review of it!

Is it long lasting?

Very much so!  It goes on extremely thick, and dries that way, but it doesn't chip at all.  I usually repaint my nails once a week, depending on how feisty I feel, and this top coat holds through that week and longer.  Without a top coat of some sort, my nail polish usually has chips in it by the next day.  I will admit, I don't really have anything to compare this top coat to other than nails without a top coat, so it might not be the longest lasting top coat around, but I like it.  

How does it look and feel?

It goes on incredibly thick, like I said above, but this thickness sometimes makes it difficult to apply.  It has a tendency to create little strings from the bottle to the brush (kind of like the strings that sometimes happen when hot gluing), but these are easily brushed away.  Usually the strings don't affect with the appearance of the top coat once it dries.  It dries quickly and will dry the colored nail polish underneath too if you have a problem with nail polish never seeming to dry completely!   However, if you have a pattern on your nails in different colored nail polishes (like polka dots or strips for example), I've noticed that this top coat sometimes makes the nail polish streak when you brush over it with the top coat brush.  That might be because the nail polish was still wet when I applied the top coat though.  Once dry, the top coat still looks thick, but I like that because it makes my long nails feel stronger with the extra thickness.  It dries nice and shiny, giving even my matte nail polishes a high glossy finish. 

How about the price and where to buy?
This is where the top coat gets a bit iffy.  When I first found it online in my research, the website wanted $14 for a .5 oz bottle.  However, I've found the same size bottle of it on Amazon for $5, so it can be bought for a more reasonable price.  I have yet to find it in any easily accessible store, but you might be able to find it at a beauty supply store, or in an actual nail salon that sells home manicure supplies.  I might order more online though, but that goes against my makeup/ nail polish impulse buying!

Would you buy again?
I would really like to buy this top coat again, but because I have only been able to find it online, I probably won't.  I'll probably go into the local beauty supply store and ask if they have anything like it though.  But if you find it, or don't have any qualms about buying nail polish online, I think it is worth the try! 

On the Subject of my Crazy Life: Playing with Lolita Fashion

I've never proclaimed to be a legitimate Lolita (or "loli" as I like to call it!), but I have been getting interested in the fashion.  Well, at least the darker and more punk side.  I don't think I will ever want to dress up in pastels.  For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, there are a bunch of awesome loli blogs, but in some freaky happenstance, the Wikipedia article on Lolita fashion is actually pretty good.  Anyway, I was invited to a loli meetup hosted by the lovely Raegan over at Her Curious Elegance.  I was a bit disappointed because my big poofy petticoat didn't come in the mail in time for me to wear it to the meetup, but Raegan let me borrow her emergency petticoat, so everything turned out alright in the end.  Unfortunately, the only full body pictures of my outfit are group shots, but hopefully I'll be able to go out in loli again soon!

frighteningly happy!

What in the world do you have on?
Let's see, I bought the pink and black wig from Minty Mix, a well known lolita wig maker.  It's surprisingly comfortable to wear, although I don't wear it with the head-constricting wig cap because I have such short hair.  That wig cap was incredibly tight and uncomfortable.  But the wig itself if wonderful!  The hat is a present from my dad, and I added the pink bow that you can't really see on the side.  The shirt was a gift from my step-mom because she got to go to the Smashing Pumpkins concert when I couldn't (although I heard the concert was mostly of their new stuff, so I didn't feel as bad!).  The bright pink skirt was made by my roommate, who is the most amazing person.  She stayed up all night just to finish my skirt for the meetup!

This is the best full body picture I got!
Apparently my butt won an award?

The shoes are a pair of Doc Martins I found at the thrift store (best find ever!), and the socks are just black knee highs.  Apparently showing your legs is bad form in lolita fashion, but because we all live in hot, humid Florida, that "rule" is broken a lot.  I was definitely more casual than some of the other lolitas at the meetup, but as a person who is so new to it, I think it made me more comfortable.

Drinks for the Drinking Nonthusiast: Victory's Moonglow Weizenbock

The Contestant:
Victory Moonglow Weizenbock

Source: their website

The Review:

What are your initial thoughts?
Well I bought this beer wanting something different from my usual, but still wanting a wheat beer.  The pretty colors on the label caught my attention this time.  I'm not so sure about the flavor though.  Unlike the other wheat beers I have tried, this one has the "flavors of harvest fruit" (says their website).  Which I determined  actually means blueberry.  That was a bit of a surprise, when I was definitely not expecting that flavor.  I'm not a huge fan of blueberry, so I might pawn this beer off on my boyfriend, and drink the beer that I incorrectly bought for my one roommate (Right company, wrong type! but more on that later).  Other than the blueberry flavor, which isn't incredibly strong or sweet, this beer is pretty decent.  Although on a funny side note, when doing a bit of research on this beer, I discovered that it is only supposed to be available September through October.  Last time I checked it was July (or June when I actually bought this), so this particular six-pack has to be almost a year old.  I'm not a huge beer nut, but I always thought that young beer is better beer (or so my dad has me to believe), but I also don't know what makes older beer worse.  Maybe I should research, or just ask my dad!

How's the price?
I paid around $10 for a six-pack at the local liquor store.  That is definitely more than I would like to pay for my beer, but I really wanted to try this out.  I don't think it's worth the price. but apparently it is imported from Germany, so I guess that is what makes it more expensive than something of a more local origin.

So would you buy this again?
Very doubtfully.  I'm really disappointed with my purchase this time.  That might be mainly because of the blueberry flavor, but I'm not sure.  If you already like blueberry beers, this might be something for you to try, but it's certainly not going to be something I want again.

Things I learned:
1. I think wiezenbock means wheat beer.  I notice it a lot on the labels of the wheat beers I already drink, and this made it a bit more obvious to me.
2. Labels and descriptions on beer when I go look at them at the store are really poorly written.  "Floral" and "fruity" are not specific terms and do nothing to help a description!  Oh well, I am learning to interpret these ambiguous descriptions.