Happy Birthday Sakamoto Maaya! ^_^

It's just past midnight here in NYC, and already the 31st of March in Japan, and I want to wish a happy, wonderful birthday to my favorite singer, Sakamoto Maaya.

I wonder if she is overwhelmed today - touring for her brand new album, composed completely by her - another amazing and well-deserved accomplishment (which, yes, I will be writing about soon).

If I could ever talk to her I'd tell her thank you: thank you for being part of so many creations that have managed to encapsulate numerous personal memories - both big and small - in my life. Thank you for bringing me company during both moments of happiness and those of stress and sadness, and thank you for giving me days where I am unable to control my excitement over the arrival of another CD of yours.

I am so glad I discovered you over a decade ago, and your music has been a big part of my life ever since. So thank you, and may this birthday be followed by many, many more.

~nikki ('<>')>

Nails: L.A. Girl's 3D Effects Hologram Nail Polish in "Teal Dimension"

The product being reviewed in this post was purchased by me with my own money. The opinions stated further are my own opinions. I am not affiliated with the brand featured in this post.

I've been hearing a lot about holographic polishes lately and wanted to try them out, but most of the ones I read about cost more than I was interested in spending. So when I saw a display from L.A. Girl's featuring holographic polishes for $4.50 each, I was excited to pick one up. Only three colors were left on the display, and the one I picked was "Teal Dimension."

Nails: Sinful Colors "Green Ocean"

The product being reviewed in this post was purchased by me with my own money. The opinions stated further are my own opinions. I am not affiliated with the brand featured in this post.

"Green Ocean" was my first polish from Sinful Colors, an affordable polish brand in the drugstores retailing for about $2, and I will say now that I bought it the second I spotted it because of how many people love it. Apparently this color comes every year in a small St. Patrick's day display, so while it isn't necessarily limited edition, it isn't readily available year-round like permanent shades.

Nails: Maybelline Color Show's "Lustrous Lime" (Color Goes Electric LE 2013)

The product being reviewed in this post was purchased by me with my own money. The opinions stated further are my own opinions. I am not affiliated with the brand featured in this post.

I've been getting into nail polish lately, and trying to add different finishes to my small collection, since I initially was drawn towards shimmery colors. While I've been successful with that, I was automatically won over at first sight by Maybelline Color Show's "Lustrous Lime."

Lips: NYX Butter Gloss in "Maple Blondie"

The product being reviewed in this post was purchased by me with my own money. The opinions stated further are my own opinions. I am not affiliated with the brand featured in this post. 

*Phew.* So I read about changes in disclaimer policy recently and I thought I'd start putting disclaimers on my post, whether they are or aren't necessary since...well...I don't see myself receiving free products for review anytime soon (or anytime period, haha).

Anyway, when I first heard about the NYX Butter Gloss, a new lip gloss from NYX, I thought wow, that sounds delicious, haha. And when I stumbled upon it in Ulta, I couldn't resist. I purchased the shade "Maple Blondie."

These glosses are described as having "creamy sheer to medium coverage...without that sticky sensation" (as taken from the NYX website). How do they stand up to these claims, and how does this product perform overall? Keep reading to find out!

NYX Haul

Yep, this is an awkward time to be posting. I should be going to sleep in about 30 minutes for work tomorrow but I received my NYX package in the mail today and just opened it tonight. I thought I'd share what I got since I've been doing a terrible job keeping up with my blog. Simply put, I've been feeling down/stressed out with work, and today I had a huge allergic reaction on my face that required Benadryl. And you know what that means...*yawn.*

A Quick Comparison: Maybelline Vivids "Fuchsia Flash" Vs. "Electric Fuchsia" (LE)

Hi everyone. :) Here's another quick, swatch-only kind of post - focusing on Maybelline LE spring Color Goes Electric products again, too. I feel odd posting this since I haven't written an actual review on the Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids yet, but in the end the purpose of this post is to provide a quick visual for those who are unsure whether or not a particular LE Vivid from the spring collection is worth purchasing. In this case, that LE Vivid is "Electric Fuchsia."