Another Weekly Outfit Video!!

These are going to be MUCH more frequent (an actual weekly thing like the title suggests; what a concept!!) so I hope you enjoy watching them; they're quick and easy for me so I definitely enjoy doing it for you all :)

If anyone else started school this week like myself I hope you've had a great time so far!! Here's to another amazing year as an ID number in the school system (somehow I actually say that endearingly, haha).

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD: essie "lapiz of luxury"

I start school tomorrow which is always a little bittersweet; gone are the days of lounging on my bum (simultaneously watching TV and surfing the web, as you do) with Galileo and back are the times of creation and bickering with the pompous contemporary art community (which, mind you, is a small portion of those I come face-to-face with but they're there nonetheless and my Gemini innards have no problem telling them if they're being arrogant a**holes).

So, to calm my mind and nerves (and pretend I'm not still fighting off the remnants of my Summer cold), I'm marathoning Restaurant Impossible (which never fails to remind me that as much as I hate working retail, waitressing was so much worse) and also painting my nails with one of the most perfect colors I've run across in a long time: essie's "lapiz of luxury".

I feel like it was near the beginning of this Summer that O.P.I.'s "You're Such A Budapest!" started making its rounds throughout the beauty community. Everywhere I turned there seemed to be some sort of a mention about the beautiful pale periwinkle lilac polish but, having a polish collection that fills me to brim with both pride and embarrassment, I held off (good girl) on adding another shade to my stash (sad girl).

Luck struck my mailbox a couple of weeks ago though in the form of a coupon booklet for Walgreens; it was full of cosmetics offers (clearly they know me well...) like a dollar off certain brands of lipsticks, BOGO deals, and, the most exciting of the bunch, a $2 off coupon for the full line of essie polishes. Two bucks really doesn't sound like much but knocking an $8 brand that doesn't have the best track record in my book (the formula varies far too much from polish to polish to justify trying anything new) down to $6 was enough reason for me to take the plunge and nab any shade I desired. 

I think I stood in front of the essie wall for five or ten minutes (two different employees came over to ask me if I needed help or if anything was wrong hahaha), idling and grumbling over which shade I wanted the most. Finally my eyes settled on "lapiz of luxury", a shade I hadn't heard of but a color that screamed "You're Such A Budapest!"-dupe-possibility, and my decision was swiftly made; "lapiz of luxury" went straight to the register and onto my nails the minute I got home.

Looking at swatches of the O.P.I. contender online, I don't think this is a perfect dupe by any stretch of the means ("You're Such A Budapest!" is far more pale/pastel and pink/lilac based) but it is still beautiful in every way shape and form. The formula is a delight which is something I find essie consistently struggles with; it's got a crelly (mix between a creme and jelly finish) feel, is thick but not cumbersome, and only needs two coats for full opacity. It also dries astoundingly quickly so you don't have to worry too much about bubbling between coats.

Look at how plush and glossy this stuff is!!! Seriously, I am SO impressed and can see myself wearing this polish on a monthly basis (which may not seem like much but, with a collection upwards of 100 polishes, it actually speaks volumes as to how much I love it). I fully stand behind essie's "lapiz of luxury" and would recommend it anyone; periwinkles like this one are flattering on so many different skin colors and are a touch of pretty whimsy on anyone's finger tips.

Have you tried essie's "lapiz of luxury"?

Love it as much as I do?

What nail polish is currently gracing your fingers?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie

August Best & Worst of Beauty!!

I'm seeing "August Favorites" posts pop up all over Blogger... which reminded me: I forgot to link my Best & Worst of Beauty video for you all!! 

So, if you haven't checked it out and are interested in some awesome (and not so awesome) beauty products then I would be delighted to have you watch! As always I've included the video by embedding it above :)

xoxo - Cassie

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder With Real Cocoa: Swatches + Review!

I'm still sick which means not much gets me excited these days other than taking a NyQuil during the day (ooo, naughty!) and chocolate (ooo, gluttony! #leavemealone); enter the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder With Real Cocoa (seriously, can we recruit tinyurl.com to help makeup companies with their names? When I have to take a breath to type out a name there's a serious problem).

Regardless, this bronzing powder had me at "chocolate"... and I doubt I'll ever be able to let go.

OOTW + Goodwill Haul!!

Just a super quick YouTube update for anyone interested in watching some fashion-related videos this weekend! I'm still sick as a dog so I know that's what I'll be doing for the next few days... feel free to join me in the couch potato shenanigans.

xoxo - Cassie

NOTD: Illamasqua "Freckle"

This isn't actually on my nails right now but heck I'm hopped up on NyQuil (oh yeahhh gimme some snot free z's) and nothing else matters hahahahhah what am I talking about what is coherency. Is it okay to write blog posts while sick out of your mind? Regardless, this is happening so I hope you all understand and send thoughts of soft kleenex and Sudafed my way.

Ahem/achoo.

Let's get on with the nail polish, shall we?

I don't know that you need to read my history with this polish but I figure if I tell you about my health status I may as well tell you about my feelings.

When Illamasqua released their "I'mperfection" line of products at the beginning of this year I wasn't super jazzed with anything... except this polish; leave it to a nail polish fanatic to cry and drool over the latest and greatest the industry is throwing at the beauty community. And if you remember (like I do), Illamasqua was quite literally throwing these polishes at us through PR samples tossed to the oh-so-fortunate big-name beauty blogs. Every time I logged onto blogger (who am I kidding, I've got it on the automatic log in setting because I'm sad and check it every five minutes) I saw a new post gushing about these beautiful bottles of speckled magic. So many wants and needs overcame me and, in a fit of self control that I still to this day cannot comprehend, I resisted placing an order for "Freckle".

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???"

That sentence echoed through my soul for the next, oh I don't know, days upon weeks upon months because it sold out. Bam. Done. Never to be in stock again... or so I thought.

I was randomly looking through my shopping list on Sephora's website one boring afternoon (as you do) and, as I scrolled by the long gone but not forgotten Illamasqua polish I noticed... there wasn't an angry red text next to it informing me it was out of stock. "WHAT?????" my soul bellowed in despaired bliss; had Sephora made a terrible error and not emailed me to tell me this was back in stock, or was the internet playing a terrible trick on my heart strings through the exclusion of necessary information?

I didn't care; I whipped this into my shopping cart (as well as a couple other things because I don't allow myself to pay for shipping) and checked out ASAP. The next few hours/days were excruciating because I was sure a message was going to pop into my inbox telling me it was all a sad mistake and the polish wasn't really in stock. 

But LO AND BEHOLD not one shred of lies or deceit was involved with this transaction. 

"Freckle" is now mine... and I couldn't be happier.

The amount of happiness that this polish has brought me is disgusting but overwhelmingly wonderful at the same time. My nails were the talk of the town (well, okay, maybe a few people took the time to comment) for the duration of this manicure and I'm happy to report that their stay was fairly long lived! I've only tried one other Illamasqua nail polish before but thankfully I've found the formula to be consistent; the opacity, longevity, and uniqueness is outstanding and, though my bank account whimpers at the thought, I can see myself purchasing many Illamasqua polishes in the future.

And by the way, Sephora still has this in stock if you thought you missed out like I did ;)

Have you tried any of Illamasqua's "I'mperfection" polishes?

Love 'em? Hate 'em?

What are your thoughts on speckle nails?

Do share!!

xoxo - Cassie

CARGO "BALI" Water Resistant Blush: Swatches + Review!

Remember waaaaaaaaaaay back in May when I received this in my Birchbox? Well, regardless of whether you do or don't: I did. It took me awhile to test it out because a.) Summer laziness, and b.) I had a slew of other blushes I was trying out/drooling over.

Excuses aside, I finally got around to test driving CARGO's "BALI" blush this month and I'm ready to share all sorts of makeup feelings with you lovely readers!

Take the jump for the full review and swatches :)