Well, hello there!

To those of you that were brought here via Facebook by my beloved friends and fabulous husband, I'd like to say thank you for visiting!
If you'd like to know a little more about me....
Most of you know me through different channels, but, for those of you that don't my name is Jessica. I'm a little weird. And derpy. Just a lot. I love cosmetics, I worked as a beauty artist for a while when I lived in Madison, Wi. I now live in Georgia and am currently not looking for work. I started this blog as a means of motivation, or, rather to cultivate motivation in me. And to keep me occupied so I don't start having tea parties with my cats (again.) If you have any questions, want a review of  a certain product, or even a tutorial just leave them in the comments. I've allowed anonymous comments, so, don't feel embarrassed about your questions!

Once again, thank you for visiting, and I bid you, "adieu!"

Makeups! (The infuriating post that my photos keep getting deleted from for no good reason.)

So today is a post that has been a long time coming. My husband had staff duty this past weekend, so, while I was alone I thought that it would be prime time to have some girlie time. So, I popped in The Little Mermaid and whipped out some makeup and slapped a bunch on my face. The following pictures are the result!

For the first look I did I used some aqua shadows from this large shadow palette that I got a while back. It doesn't have any indication of who it's by, though, it does look like a BH Palette.

I really like the look of smokey eye shadow, but, with dark hair and eyes I don't like the idea of using immensely dark shadow. I used a little grey shadow in the corners for depth.

Don't mind my scary brows.

 I kept the rest of my face simple with the Twinkled Pink blush from my ELF review here, a nude MAC lipstick, and Revlon's 3D Photoready Volume Mascara (which I LOVE). Review it? Yes, I shall. I'll do a post this coming week with my favorite beauty products.

I love my derpy face. :3

 I love the combination of pink and red, due in part to the dress that Ariel wears later in the movie. And, yes, she can pull it off. I've work red and pink before, but, I did a slight variation on this look. I did it a quite...garishly. Lol.

Pink shadows AND cat eyeliner?

I used the same ELF blush, and Revlon's Candy Apple Lip Butter (which I am also in love with.)

Definitely not a look that I would wear out.

I also did a look with some purple shadows, which I have a lot hate relationship with. When I just wear purple to the crease I look sickly, so I also did a smokey look. I've yet to find a good, pigmented purple liner, though. SOON. Also, I put my hair up in a hair bow! I wanted to show off my new fringe I cut myself. 

I don't know why I always look so derpy. Eh. 

Not the best picture of myself I've ever taken, but, I wanted to show the colors.  

I also wanted to show off my hair bow. It didn't turn out perfect, but, I wanted it to be a little messy, it adds a little character.

If you guys want tutorials for any of these looks, or information on the colors that I used, leave them in the comments and I shall grant your wishes!

That's all the derpiness I've got for you for now.
Thankie thankie!
♥

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SciFi Saturday

Sorry I don't have a nail to show you today. I decided to take off the last mani and have naked nails for a few days, which is good to do every now and again.
Today wasn't a total loss, though, because the Hubs and I watched "Serenity," one of my favorite movies that I couldn't believe he's never seen! Then I played a little Mass Effect 2. It's been kind of a lazy day here, and I've not posted in a while, so, I think I'm going to go play with my makeup and see what I can post for you all. (:

In the meantime, please consider this meme for your enjoyment. 

I made this. (:

ELF review-pic heavy

So today I'm finally getting around to reviewing what came in my ELF package. I really liked most of it, but, there was one product that didn't quite deliver. Before buying anything  I always read the reviews online, and from several sites even. The reviews for most of the products were nothing but good, and, some of them were so-so depending on the person.

The first product is the one that kind of disappointed me. It was also the one that I was most excited about.  It's the Wrinkle Refiner.

It's got a kind of silicone doe-foot applicator with a hole in the center for the product to come up through. 

It's translucent and has a kind of nice, soothing herbal-y scent. The website says it has " blend of Wheat Protein, Horse Chestnut, Caffeine, Edelweiss, Chamomile, Shea, Mango and Vitamins A & E."

I was really sad that this product didn't work for me. It sounded promising, "virtually fill in laugh lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles for a flawless finish;" now, I don't have too many wrinkles, yet, just one laugh line on the left side of my mouth and these deep awful wrinkles under my eyes (that are slowly fading, but I'll get into that later.) It dries quite fast which makes it hard to blend, so I just patted it on under my eyes with the applicator. It dries matte which I'm not sure if I agree with or not. Once it had set I then tried to apply my concealer on top of it. Bad idea. The Refiner just kind of pilled on my face and fell off. It was strange and I wasn't really sure what happened. The reviews that I read about this product that weren't good just said that it "flaked," which would have bothered me as much, but, it was only $3 so it wasn't much of a loss.

The next product is the Corrective Concealer in "Erase & Conceal."

 The website says of this product "conceals under-eye darkness, blemishes and other skin imperfections with customized coverage. Brightens under-eye circles and neutralizes redness. Convenient size for on-the-go travel." The latter part is most definitely true at being only about a centimeter thick, it also comes with a little brush inside and a small mirror. The area under my eyes is fairly dark and the concealer I normally use is from Hard Candy, and out of all the ones I've ever tried "(I used to be a Beauty Artist) it is by far my favorite, and is only $6! Back to the palette; they have two different colors on the site, and, I chose the one that had the yellow, blue, green, and pink on the inside. As far as the colors go, the yellow is to neutralize redness, the blue is to neutralize orange, the green also neutralizes red-but I suggest it for more cool toned skin, and the pink neutralizes gray and brightens. The formula is a little waxy and on me does not seem to cover as well on me. I do, however like it for covering little tiny breakouts and blemish scars that I have. Use it everyday? I probably will not. Overall, I think this is going to last me a long time, so, for $3, I think this is a good deal. 

The favorite product that I purchased is the blush. I got the color "Twinkle Pink," and, guess what? 

Love, love, love, love this!

I think this shows the color a liiiiiiiittle better.

It's a dupe! I'm sad that the picture does not justice because I think this color is absolutely gorgeous. It's a perfect (in my opinion) dupe for Nars Super O blush. Even the packaging is similar. Which, is my favorite when I'm splurging.  From the website, "the soft sheer texture blends into the skin for a silky finish. Designed to be worn alone or layered for more depth. Highlight your complexion with a subtle healthy glow!" Which it most certainly does. It's a coral-y pink shad with beautiful gold shimmer and some larger gold flecks. I'm so in love with this. It wears very nice and goes on smooth. I think that I'm going to stock up on this color and horde it because I love it that much! For $3 this is a steal!

The next product is the Cream Eyeliner.

Derp, derp, derp.

 From the site "the cream formula creates smooth lines that are defined and precise. Smudge-proof, budge-proof and water-resistant coverage for all day wear to combat against sweat, tears or rain! Achieve thin or bold lines with ease." Definitely true. I really like this one, as well. It goes on nice and smooth and last quite a long time. It does come with a small (kind of cheap-y) angled brush, but to apply it I use one of my own (also from ELF.) Now, I don't like lining my bottom water line with dark colors, and, actually use one of those nude colored liners because that park of my eye tends to be a little red. So, it's important for me to have an eyeliner that once is lined on my top water line with not rub off onto the bottom, which this product does not. The color payoff is also a nice thick, opaque black. At $3, I will be repurchasing this one once I'm out. 

I'm almost all out of my favorite eye shadow primer, and trying to stay on budget, I figured that  I would forgo it and try one of the ELF ones, so I got the Eyelid Primer.

Derp, derp, derp.

 I got the color champagne, which is slightly sparkly. From the site "preps your eyelid for smoother, longer-lasting and crease-proof eyeshadow. The ultra sheer nude color works to increase eye color longevity. The lightweight liquid formula quickly absorbs into the skin for comfortable wear." Well, it says it's for "crease-proof eyeshadow," which, does hold fairly true, but, the primer itself does crease, which can affect the wear of the shadow. I do, however, really like this product, but, I am not sure if I'll be purchasing it again. For $1, though, it is a great deal.

The next product I have is the Shimmering Facial Whip.

I really like the color.

 I really wanted the color "Pink Lemonade," but they were sold out so I settled for "Persimmon." From the site "our Shimmering Facial Whip is a multipurpose, on-the-go whipped highlighter packed with Vitamin E to instantly brighten and soothe skin with no greasy after-feel. Ideal for using on your cheeks, lips, eyelids or anywhere you would like a radiant pop of shimmering color." I really liked the formula, and, since I got the one that was the one that looked like it would be the most opaqueI was really hoping for good color payoff. It was quite nice, but, it was almost metallic, uhm, well, I don't really know how else to describe it, it was so shimmery. Also, it has titanium dioxide in it, so, try to avoid flash when taking pictures or you'll look like you've got white sploches on your lips and cheeks. I do like this product, and, once Pink Lemonade is back in stock I think I'll get that one, too. For only $1 it's great to add to your collection.

I also picked up an All Over Color Stick in the color "Spotlight."

It's a light champagne-y color, very pretty.

 The site says "this 3-in-1 Color Stick adds a beautiful glow to your eyes, lips, or face! Get gorgeous color that illuminates and instantly conditions skin for fresh and natural color all day long. Blend anywhere you would like to highlight and brighten like your cheeks and brow bones." I'm really glad that I picked this out, but, It doesn't always blend very well for me because the formulation is just a little on the waxy side. To remedy this I apply some on a clean foundation brush and apply it to the tops of the apples of my cheeks. To get a nice dewy glow you only need a little of the product, so the stick I think will last me a while. For $1 this is definitely a good buy.

Every now and again I get a little break out, but, not terribly often since I've been tending more to my skin. So, I don't need a lot of acne products. I picked up the Zit Zapper. 

It was only $1, but, it works really well. The site says "zap zits away with the unique blend of Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil, Witch Hazel and Camphor." I love this stuff. Definitely going to get more. 

Another product that  I was excited to use is the High Definition Powder.

It's a translucent powder that's very smooth. It's very finely milled, so, be careful when opening it, and, try not to breathe heavily near it. The site says "the e.l.f. High Definition Powder is a translucent, versatile loose powder that creates a flawless, "soft focus" effect to the skin. Masks fine lines and imperfections for a glowing, radiant complexion. This incredibly soft and invisible powder is ideal for everyday wear, either alone or over your favorite e.l.f. foundation." Now, I don't use, and haven't tried, the ELF foundation, so, I don't know how this product would work with it, but, using this on top of my daily Aveeno tinted moisturizer it was kind of anti-climactic. Some of the other reviews that I read or watched on YouTube said that after a few minutes you'd see the difference. Using it with my tinted moisturized that held true, but, layered over my powder foundation it did not. The weather here isn't very warm or humid yet, but, I think that it may work better then, I'll keep you posted. Depending on how it works later on, I may or may not repurchase, I'm on the fence as of now. It was $6. 

Now, last on the list is the Makeup Mist & Set.

Great travel sized bottle.

Put simply, it's like hairspray for your makeup. The site says "the invigorating mist moisturizes and soothes the skin with key ingredients Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber and Vitamins A, C & E. The lightweight, comfortable and alcohol free formula improves makeup wearability and prevents color from running or fading." I'm not really sure if does all that, but, it does feel really refreshing on the face. My skin is weird, I have an oily t-zone, but, dryness on my forehead and cheeks. So, sometimes my face gets a little flaky. This spray remedies that! I actually really like this and I know that I'll be getting it again. Also, if you fly a lot this is great, it's only 2.02 fl oz, and you can mist this on your face to prevent it from drying out. Cost me $3. 

I got all this when they had the free shipping promo, which it seems they have very often, so, it's good if there is somethings that you'd like to try but are scare of wasting your money. I really like a lot of the ELF products, and, for the most part am not usually disappointed by anything I get from them.

That's all I've got for now. But, if you have any products from ELF, or in general that you really like please leave them in the comments! Thankie thankie!

♥

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Allergies

Sorry that I've not posted in a while, I've been working on getting school stuff together and my allergies have been killing me!

I've been testing out my new ELF products that I bought online last week and I think I'm ready to do a review on them. Some good, some bad.

That'll be all for now until tomorrow afternoon. (:

♥

"Blackbird fly..."

Today has been a good day. I applied for school (fiiiiiiiiiinnnaaaaaaaalllllly), got my E.L.F package (which I'll review tomorrow), and went to Smoothie King. I do have a NOTD to show you. It's a royal purple cream called "Amethyst," and I chose this color for today in honor of one of my dearest friend's birthday. It's a very lovely color and I hope this one lasts a longer than Dream On, which I loved but we all know how terribly mattes flake, which I was hoping a healthy  dose of top coat woud, but didn't help.
So, without further ado, here's Amethyst:

Two coats Amethyst.

I've got three coats of Ice's Busted with two coats of Revlon's Plum Night on the ring finger.

I hope my friend has a great birthday, though she is overseas. I'll get to see her this summer, so, I know we'll party then.
I'm so excited that I finally I applied for school, it feels good knowing that I'm getting this taken care of.
I've been having an awful neck pain, and I have a feeling it's due to my new found love of ballerina buns. They're so easy and look super cute dressed up or down. Oh, well.

That's all I've got for now.
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Fun fun stuffs. (Sorry, this is a pic-heavy one.)

I am so tired. But, in a good way. I was going to keep Dream On on as long as I could, but, when I woke up this morning the polish was missing from my index finger! It was so strange.

Um, yeah, not sure what happened here.

 So I'm going to be trying out another Sinful polish that I got from my haul last week, it's called "Amethyst" and is a nice royal purple cream. But, I'll put that in a post later today.

This afternoon the Hubs took me to a little joint in the middle of nowhere called " Four Winds Restaurant," which states the claim of being home of the "World Famous Ranger Burger." And that it is. I'm not sure if many of you know the movie "We Were Soldiers" but it was filmed here around Fort Benning. (I'm going to re-watch that movie tonight, it's been a while.) And while they were filming both Mel Gibson and Sam Elliot decided to pay this quaint little dinner in the middle of nowhere a visit. It's a local hotspot for many of the soldiers that are stationed here, and, I can see why. Friendly service, quick delicious home-cooked food, quiet. Now, getting back to the "Ranger Burger," they have these MASSIVE burgers that are soooooo tasty. The one that Ted and I both has was called the "Drill Sargent Burger." I got the junior because Ted has had one before and I knew a regular would be too big. It came with two beef patties about 7 oz each, two pieces "yellow cheese," which I don't normally eat, 2 pieces bacon, raw or grilled onions, pickles, tomato (both of which I despise so mine went without), mayo, lettuce, and the pièce de résistance-a fried egg. I LOVE burgers with eggs on them, I don't know why. I also ordered mine with an accompaniment of onion rings in place of fries. And they served our beverages in mason jars, which I just thought was too cute. After we placed our order it only took about 10 minutes to get our food.  I know that we will definitely be going there again. It's only about 15 minutes from our place of residence to Fort Benning, and, from Fort Benning it was maybe 10 or so minutes, and when I looked it up online instead of being listed in Columbus, it was listed in Cusseta.

After we finished our massive lunch I decided that I wanted to stop buy Hobby Lobby to get some supplies that I needed for a cool duct tape wallet tutorial that I found on YouTube. I really like the end result, but, I forgot to get velcro, and, since I plan on being lazy today, I'll finish it off next week. I will tell you, however, that it was super easy, and I made mine pink, with a certain famous feline on it. (: When I post the final product I'll also link to the tutorial.

It was about 5:30 when we were done with the craft harvesting, but, I had the itch to explore. That, and, I didn't want to go home just yet, so, at the Hubs suggestion we went to explore historic downtown Columbus, or, known to locals as "Uptown." AH! I loved it! It reminded me so much of my beloved State Street from back in Madison. Lots of cool local shops and restaurants, artsy stuff on every corner, foliage. For my friends back in Texas, it's like a mini 6th Street. I'm so glad that it's only five minutes away from where we live. Since it was already about 6 o'clock we decided that we would come back another day to explore, but, as we were turning around I had the strong urge to pull over and go see the Riverwalk. I do have some pictures here for you!

It looks so peaceful. This was the view from the right of where we parked.

From the left, not much to see.

I thought this was kind of a neato memorial.

This reminds me of something one would see in a dystopian film. 

Alabama is just on the other side.

We think this used to be an old power plant. 

Eventually I'd like to go see the rest of the Riverwalk, though, once you get up to the power plant the sidewalk is closed and you have to get there another way. Oh, well.

I'll post the new mani in a little bit, so, that's all for now!
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What's in a name?

So, I think this is about the third time that I changed my blog's name. I don't know why I am so peculiar about things. First it was "Adventures in Derp," but that didn't have the certain je ne sais quoi that I was seeking in a name. So, I changed it to "Polish & Paws," which was a little more personal to me, seeing as how I love nail polish and I love my kitties and their squee paws. But then that was too similar to another blog that popped up when I Google'd it. So, I it came to "The Painted Lady," which I think I might be in love with. It's an allusion ( or an outright finger-point to, however you look at it) to my favorite episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I told you I was a dork. It's simple, classy, and I even checked to see what else would come up; nothing but a restaurant and a few other unrelated things. I'm happy now. Also, I think it does suit me a lot more due to the fact that I've had an unfortunate brow waxing trauma and have to "paint" my eyebrows on. Eh.

Well, to the modicum of people reading this, that is all for now.
 ♥

Hand and cuticle creams

So, after going out to dinner the Hubs and I stopped to pick up a new box fan, yay! I swung by the health and beauty department to get a good hand cream and maybe a cuticle oil, too. In an effort to be more budget conscious while I'm not working I decided that instead of using what I normally would, that I would try out a drugstore brand.  Well, the particular store we were at didn't have much of a selection, the only cuticle oil I found was for the removal of cuticles, and, I have had bad experience with products like that so I decided to forgo it. Well, the hand cream selection was a bit abysmal as well. I didn't like the smell on one, the consistency of another and so on and so fourth. Then, I found one that was called "Hand and Cuticle Therapy." It's by Curél. It says that it has "Advanced ceramide therapy." Ceramides are a family of lipid molecules, and they help to maintain the integrity of skin's outer layer. Think of them as the energy  that keeps the forcefield (your skin) around your hands strong, smooth, and young.

The Curél cream didn't have any fragrance to it, which I liked, and was a lot creamier than some of the others offered. It also contains Sweet Almond Oil, which is really good for the cuticles. After I bought it I took it out of the bag once I got to the car and put some one. The inital feeling was nice, smooth and it absorbed quickly. I have slightly sweaty hands often due to poor circulation, and was expecting this to be a little greasy, even though the packaging said that it wasn't. It claims to "soothe even the driest hands on contact and continues to moisturize even through repeated hand washings for all day softness." Well, I've only had it on about 30 minutes tops and my hands-not sweaty at the moment-are a little waxy. My hands aren't super dry or scratchy, so, I don't know how, or why, my hands are more dry now that I have this cream on. Who knows, it may just be because this is the first time I'm using it, or because of the acidity from the sweat residue on my hands. It was only about $5, so, it wasn't a total lost, though, I am going to try to continue using it before I give up on this product.

Do you use a certain hand cream or cuticule oil? How do they work? If you have any you recommend please post in the comments below! Thank you!

 ♥

Dream on!

Today I have another SinfulColors polish for you. This one, my Ted happened to pick out. I wasn't too crazy about it, but, it was only 99¢, and I don't own a color like it. Well, OH MY GLOB I LOVE IT!! It's called "Dream On" and in the bottle it looks like a regular creme, though very bright, doesn't look like there would be anything too surprising about it, but...It dries as a matte!

2 coats Dream on, no top coat.

With top coat.

I wasn't expecting to like this color so much. I changed out of my Cinderella/Hottie manicure after smashing my hand in my new mandolin slicer-which I love, also, but I'll get into that a little later. I think I'm going to keep this one on as long as I can, which is hard because I do a  lot with my hands.

Also, last night was awful! I've slept with a box fan on since I was in Elementary school, and, last night ours broke and I could not sleep at all. Which, as an insomniac isn't too bad, but, I was really tired. Blargh. Also, today has been the warmest day in a long time, 66°, but it's also a tad gloomy and rainy. Ew.

Oh, well, that's all for now!

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Welcome!!!

As I type this my kitty Luna is trying to push her way onto my laptop's keyboard. I'm starting this blog so I can rant about my love of make-up, nail polish, and tasty noms to the internet masses.

Starting out, I do have a polish picture to show you! After reading about and seeing so many people talk about SinfulColors' "Cinderella" I had to go out a get some! SinfulColors' is sold at Walgreen's and Target, and retails for about $1.99, though they were having a sale so I picked up a few more colors, like "Hottie" which I layered over "Cinderella."

SinfulColors Cinderella

SinfulColors Hottie

I'm not too sure if you can tell, but, within the light blue jelly base there is a pinky-gold shimmer, which is just beautiful. I lightly layered "Hottie" on top, so it's just a little darker, but, I love the flecks of iridescent  glitter. Sorry about my middle finger nail, I broke it so now my hand looks strange to me. Also I was too excited to use this polish, which is why the application was a little messy. Sorry 'bout that. I know my hands look old, but I'm only 22 I promise!
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