OPI starring The Muppets Most Wanted

It's time to light the lights..

To commemorate The Muppets Most Wanted, OPI released eight shades in attempt to capture the theme and essence of the characters. When I think of the Muppets, I think of their psychedelic-hued fur and soft, fuzzy coats, yet we didn't really get that here.

Wearing I Love Applause and Let's Do Anything We Want

I Love Applause is a pale, creamy pink. Solid performer, opaque in two coats, but yawn-worthy at best.

Miss Piggy wouldn't even bat an eyelash at this one.

Close up of Let's Do Anything We Want over I Love Applause

Let's Do Anything We Want features reflective pink hexagons, white squares in varying sizes and bits of microscopic glitter all set within a clear polish. The coverage was sparse at best, so much that we really had to coax the party out of the bottle.

OPI really missed their opportunity to celebrate some of my favourite characters, namely Kermit, Rizzo (yes, the rat) and Rowlf.  There's a touch of irony in here -- Muppets Most Wanted?

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for OPI's The Muppets Most Wanted (price per bottle):

• $19.95 AUS / $9.00 USD 

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 7 out of 10 bags — Pretty good, but then again, not good enough.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I recently purchased OPI's Push and Shove from the Gwen Stefani release. I probably should've read the instructions prior to applying, because my nails wound up looking like a hot mess.

*PR sample provided  –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.

A glimpse at the lips: Bite Beauty's Deconstructed Rose Library

Bite Beauty's Deconstructed Rose Library 

Well, folks, it's taken me a couple of weeks to get through all twelve shades, but we made it!

Phoe. I'm pooped.

I peeled back each petal, layer by layer and eventually reached the matter of things.

While Bite may offer long-lasting lip pencils, these glosses, however, won't stick around for all that long -- two to three hours is all you'll really get. Luckily the darker shades will leave behind a subtle stain.

To boot, like a moth to a flame, my hair got blown onto my lips way more than I would've liked. 

What is with that phenomenon?

Another downer? The petite tubes (.05oz/1.40G per tube) have narrow necks which made it difficult to pull out enough product on the first go; Amy of Cafe Makeup shared the same experience as I.

As for the rose scent, I feared it would be too strong and overbearing for my nose. Yet in the end it was quite delicate and pleasing -- never fake or forced and it [the scent] typically wore off in a matter of minutes.

Oh and it tastes sweet, like honey, which may or may not effect wear time.  Nom, nom. 

The shade breakdown

Swatches of the Deconstructed Rose Lip Gloss Library (without flash)

Swatches of the Deconstructed Rose Lip Gloss Library (with flash)

Smeared swatches - from left to right (top) and from right to left (bottom) to get a better idea of what they'd look like when layered

Shade 1 - light pink/mauve

Shade 2 - rosey pink

Shade 3 - light coral

Shade 4 - raisin

Shade 5 - mauve

Shade 6 - dusty rose

Shade 7 - dusty coral

Shade  8 - muted cherry

Shade 9 - apple red

Shade 10 - jewel red

Shade 11 - dark red-brown

Shade 12 - deep purple

Shade Overview - nos. 1 through 6

Shades 1 through 6 are for the swipe and go kind of gals. The only colour disparity, to my eyes, was shade 4 (lower left corner) -- doesn't it stick out like a sore thumb? It's loaded with pigment and throws off the colour scale, don't you think? Perhaps my bouquet got a bit confused.

Shade Overview - nos. 7 through 12

Shades 7 through 12 hit the sweet spot. They're all loaded with colour -- this, my friends, is what Bite is all about -- high wattage colour that doesn't quit (most of the time).

The Deconstructed Rose Library IMHO is great value for money. You get a few of your go-tos and several shades you might not necessarily gravitate toward.

I really hope you enjoyed this comprehensive look at Bite's latest compilation of colours. Now, please hand it back, because this book is long overdue.

And to all the mothers out there -- Happy Mother's Day! This includes you, P-Cakes! Call you tomorrow :)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Bite Beauty's Deconstructed Rose Library:

• $49.00 USD - exclusively sold at Sephora

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags — Plush, never sticky and always sweet.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• BB for lips! What will they think of next?

How to conceal Rosacea

This is how I apply my makeup every day (rosacea or not).

I realise I'm talking all the way through the video, but I had to speed the process up :)

Here's a list of the products featured in this video:

• Bare Minerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener in Luminous 2
• Jane Iredale's Pure Pressed Base Mineral Foundation in Golden Glow
• Too Faced Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light
• Burberry's Blush in Tangerine
• MAC's Mystery and Brush 242
• Rouge D'Armani Sheer 202 Lipstick
• Other brushes featured in this video are from Chanel, Bare Minerals, KIKO, Benefit and Eco Tools

Like a Ballroom Blitz? Urban Decay's Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

Urban Decay's Electric Pressed Pigment Palette

Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours, is an Indian tradition celebrated at the start of every Spring. When I saw Urban Decay's teaser video on Instagram a few months ago I knew almost immediately where they could've pulled their inspiration from.

The mighty ten

Nine pressed pigment shades were paired with its muse, Chaos, to tantalise the rainbow lovers. Personally, I'm a colour admirer -- I know what I like, but I've never been too bold in the makeup realm. Urban Decay's newest palette has given me a chance to taste that rainbow.

Revolt

Revolt is a shimmery silver. I wouldn't necessarily say its super pigmented, yet it does make for a great colour for highlighting the inner corners of your eyes.

Gonzo (the not so great)

Gonzo is described as a "bright turquoise matte with floating tonal pearl." 'Tis bright, but chalky and patchy. 

Slowburn

Slowburn is as orange as the setting summer sun. Matte and pearl collide in the finish.

Savage

Savage is the apple of Barbie's eye. It's a matte fuchsia pink that'd make Ken jealous.

Fringe

Fringe is a metallic teal; just think of a peacock's feather.

Chaos

Chaos (not the kind in Britney's life) is a vibrant, matte cerulean blue and is probably just as patchy as Gonzo. This is a buildable blue that requires a bit of patience during the application process.

Jilted

Jilted is a cranberry pink with hints of plum. This shade happens to be one of my personal favourites.

Urban

Urban is a punk-y regal purple that Queen Elizabeth could even get behind.

Freak

Freak is a moss green with golden undertones. Kermit knows full well it's not easy being green.

Thrash 

Chartreuse is the baby of lemon and lime. Urban Decay classifies Thrash as a matte, but I beg to differ.

Swatches from left to right: Revolt, Gonzo, Slowburn, Savage and Fringe

Swatches from left to right: Gonzo, Jilted, Urban, Freak and Thrash

Swatches of all ten shades

I have no real tricks up my sleeve in the makeup skills department, so I watched a tutorial filmed by Leesha of xSparkage for advice -- for me, she is a master at whipping up wearable looks with extraordinary colour palettes.

Just like Leesha I kept things in the family and paired several colours (Gonzo, Jilted, Urban and Revolt) from the Electric Pressed Pigment Palette with the a few colours from the Naked 3 Palette.

Prior to applying the six or seven shades seen above, I first applied NARS Smudge Proof Primer, which was followed by NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk in order to have a proper canvas. This duo (primer and white eyeliner) helped to make the eyeshadow stay put, so much that I didn't fret about colour fallout.

This palette made me super giddy, I felt like a kid in a candy store as I wrangled up my brushes before trotting off to create this look. I can't wait to see how the other six shades perform.

Overall, I'm impressed by this leap of faith purchase. Thanks to Tacita for helping to make this possible!

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Urban Decay's Electric Pressed Pigment Palette:

• $49.00 USD 

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 9 out of 10 bags — There were more hits than misses.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Tacita also picked up a couple of tubes of UD's Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss.  I just so happen to be wearing Naked in these very pictures :)