Kristin Hannah: Firefly Lane (2008)

PURCHASED

Whenever I go to Barnes and Noble, I always visit the fiction aisles to see if anything catches my eye. I love my tried-and-true favorites, like Agatha Christie and Stephen King, but I am as eager to discover a new love as I am to read another of their stories. I view my list of authors as I do my list of music artists: one that I work to expand on, so that the possibilities to experience become endless.

I've never heard of Kristin Hannah, but the covers of her books along the shelf were what drew me in, and the summary of Firefly Lane is what won me over. A story of friendship between two completely different girls that goes over the span of thirty-plus years. Horror and mystery novels are my favorites, but stories of life and all of its ugly and beautiful faces have been meaningful to me lately. And, of course, I love stories that really go in-depth. I rather know too much about the characters than too little. I want to feel - to realistically feel.

As such, I purchased Firefly Lane (2008). It has been my go-to read during my time on the elliptical, so I didn't expect to finish it this soon. But I've been wanting to read it - wanting to see what happens next, how the friendship between these girls ends or goes on forever. That's why I sat down today and read what was left.

Now I'm here, unsure of how to organize this review, but wanting to tell you that Firefly Lane is one of the most touching, powerful, and submerging novels I've ever come across.

MAC's Playland Lipsticks Sneak Peek: Quick Swatches, Comparisons, & First Thoughts

LEFT TO RIGHT: "Sweet Experience," "Toying Around," and "Happy-Go-Lucky"

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It's the weekend of the week of MAC's Playland online and in-store launch dates - which means I have (some) lipsticks in my possession to share with you (and WEAR!), yay!

I don't know what collection Playland is supposed to be, except one of many April collections, so I can't say much about that. But I will say that I've been anticipating the release of this collection since January for two reasons: (a) the lipsticks are in bright pink-related shades, and (b) they're in the amplified (creme?) finish, which is my absolute favorite MAC finish.

So when it launched on Nordstrom's website this past Monday, I ordered my first two picks: "Toying Around" and "Sweet Experience," which I received in the mail yesterday. Then on Wednesday I ordered "Red Balloon" off of Belk, which has yet to arrive (one of the reasons I consider this post a 'sneak peek'). And finally, last night, I went to my local MAC store and swatched the collection's other lipsticks in person, settling on "Happy-Go-Lucky." That essentially means I bought all four lipsticks in the amplified finish for this collection, as the other two are frosts.

This post is a 'sneak peek' because I do not yet have pictures of me wearing the lipsticks, or full reviews on them since I've owned them for less than a day. I also will not be writing those until next week, when all four lipsticks are in my possession and I can create a master post for the collection. In this post I will share semi-detailed comparisons to lipsticks that have been said to have comparable colors, and I will share my brief initial thoughts on some of the lipsticks that I have worn already.

UPDATE 04/22/14: I received "Red Balloon" today and have since worn it and "Happy-Go-Lucky" so this post will include updates here and there to add my opinions on them (and swatches in terms of "Red Balloon").

IMATS NY 2014

Hi! Tomorrow is the first of the two public days of IMATS NY 2014 and I'm happy to say that I'm going again this year! Thankfully my mom is coming with me this time, so it won't be as boring as last year (when I was all by my little self).

I'm so excited, and have been looking forward to this since I bought our tickets in January. Apparently Sigma, Sugarpill, and NYX will be around this year so yeah, it's nice to see more brands that I recognize (especially the ones that are normally shop-online-only for me).

Anyway, if any of you are going to IMATS tomorrow or Sunday, I hope you have a great time! I'll post my 'haul' (which will still be small haha) as soon as I can. :)

~nikki

Lips: Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in "Jungle Peach" (LE) [Vintage Collection 2014]

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Hi! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we might actually have a spring here in NYC this year, and thank goodness for THAT, as this winter was brutal. Still...it seems whenever we have nice weather, the wind is total shit. It just blows nonstop, and it has a tendency to be icy. Ugh.

Anyway, yay for a review that isn't on a MAC  product!

This post seems almost fitting. Today I'm going to review another Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick - and I italicize 'another' because a long time ago (roughly a year and a half!), I published my first lipstick post ever on this blog, which reviewed a Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick. You can find that review here. Going with the theme of time, Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks are one of the most timeless drugstore lipsticks around. And, on top of that, the color I'll be reviewing today is a perfect example: it's a color that's being re-promoted in a limited edition collection dedicated to vintage shades that customers voted for. Sounds kind of like the MAC collection mentioned in my previous review, no?

The color is "Jungle Peach," originally released in 1963! To be honest, "Jungle Peach" wasn't my preferred color choice. I originally wanted "Snow Peach," but every display I found was sold out of it. That's because Revlon is doing the usual "2 per display" fail-tactic that a lot of drugstores have been implementing lately with their limited edition collections. One can never understand.

In any case, I did manage to find and purchase "Snow Peach" later on, and I'll be reviewing that as soon as possible. But for now, let me just say that "Jungle Peach" pleasantly surprised me. 

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Hoop" (Satin) (LE) [By Request 2014] + Comparisons

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Hi! This past Tuesday, MAC released their spring 2014 By Request collection. "By Request" collections are essentially collections made up of previously released products that are voted to come back for a limited time due to popular demand. MAC offers a choice of products to vote between, and then the products with the top votes become part of the collection. This time around, the products were all colors released in the '90s (yay!), and the collection is exclusive to MAC's website. No in-store try-it-before-you-buy-it here.

I didn't know anything about this collection, nor did I vote for any of the colors (or hear about them, really). Honestly, I didn't learn anything until just over a week ago. As usual, I was mainly drawn towards the lipsticks, and of the three that were voted highest, the only one that caught my attention was "Hoop," which was apparently first released during a 1991 collection (my birth year). This might be lame, but I do find that pretty cool.

Anyway, I got my package in the mail yesterday and have worn the lipstick since, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on a limited edition item early for once. I also decided to include a comparison to two other lipsticks that I already have, for those interested in other choices with similar colors.