Beautyburg's Spring Giveaway! Win The China Glaze Crackle Collection And A Basket of Fun Spring Beauty!!!!

March 04, 2011 by Robin Park

Our spring giveaway!

Hello beautiful! Spring is almost here, so why not celebrate with a basket of beauty booty?! Enter for a chance to win our Spring Giveaway Basket! Marlowe arranged it himself.

To enter is easy! Just fill in your email. Subscribe to Beautyburg for extra chances to win this basket! Really up your chances of winning by Liking us on Facebook or subscribing to our YouTube channel.

The Beautyburg bunny will mail this to your door!

Win the complete China Glaze Crackle Collection and more!

So what's in this basket of goodies?
Burt's Bees Natural Manicure Set (see below for what's in the set)
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Black Mesh
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Broken Hearted
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Cracked Concrete
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Crushed Candy
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Fault Line
China Glaze Crackle Nail Polish in Lightening Bolt
Claire's 6 Piece Mini Nail Set in Pastel
Claire's 6 Piece Mini Nail Set in Rainbow
LA Color Style + Art 3D Nail Stickers - 2 sets
Maybelline New York Express Finish in Blue Brilliance
Maybelline New York Express Finish in Lilac Luster
Revlon Scented Nail Polish in Beach
Revlon Scented Nail Polish in Ocean Breeze
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Cloud
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Electric
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Orchid
Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Fly With Me
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Purple Pizzaz
Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette in Lust
Plus some yummy Easter candy treats all in a festive spring basket.

These colors would look cute with Crackles over them!

The contest ends April 15, 2011 at 11:59pm PST! It's open to international friends, and you must be 18 or older to enter (or get permission from a parent). Winner will be announced the weekend of April 16th and will have 48hours to respond.

Please only one entry per person! Thank you all for participating and coming to check out Beautyburg!

CLOSED! THANKS FOR THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED!

Lazy Sunday - Some Recent Posts From This Week - New Zodiac - Golden Globes Anyone?

January 16, 2011 by Robin Park

Hi All! Sunday already?! Such a busy week this week. We hit a big milestone on the blog (thank you guys so much), started a YouTube channel and also found out our zodiac changed! We are also busy moving and reorganizing our stash. While moving, we are plan on catching some NFL play-off games (I know! My guilty pleasure.) and seeing the Golden Globes. I'm excited to see the outfits and the looks (at the Golden Globes, obviously, not at the Bears game). Navy was so big at the Emmys. I wonder if there will be pronounced trend at this award show?

So here are some posts from this week that you may have missed. One big highlight for Beautyburg is our new YouTube channel. We only have 1 tutorial so far, but after our move, I plan on trying to add to the channel regularly. Leave a comment if you have a suggestion on what you would like to see. Here is our first video. It's a tutorial/how to on Sally Hansen Salon Effects.

I also swatched some L'Oreal HiP Shadow Duos that I recently scored from the CVS clearance sale here.

HiP Studio Secrets Professional Concentrated Shadow Duo in Cheeky (508).

And we sniffed and swatched some scent nail polishes from Revlon.

Not So Blueberry Scented Nail Enamel.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone! We'll see you on Twitter when the Golden Globes are on. I'm sure there will be some zomg! moments. :)

Do you have any predictions for the winners? Did your zodiac change too? How has your week been?!

What's That Perfume You're Wearing? Revlon Scented Nail Enamel - Not So Blueberry and Bubble Gum

January 12, 2011 by Robin Park

Not So Blueberry

Revlon has re-released scented nail enamels. These have been out in previous years, and I was excited to pick up Not So Blueberry which I had missed earlier. These scented nail polishes are fragranced even after drying. Initially I was intrigued by the novelty of it. I wondered if it would actually smell after application and how long it would last. I also worried if the fragrance would effect the formula.

The formula was a pleasant surprise. Two coats for Not So Blueberry, a shimmering purple-berry foil, to a completely opaque coverage. Bubble Gum needed three coats; it had more of a slightly transparent creme finish, though not quite jelly.

I was expecting scent, but I don't think I was expecting the degree of fragrance. I love perfume, but the fragrances radiating from my nails was actually interfering with my perfume on my body. Even after 24+ hours of wear, a shower and numerous hand scrubbings, the blueberry and bubblegum scents, which kinda just smelled the same after a while, were still going strong. So, the novelty of scented nail polish wore off faster than the actual fragrance. Also, I think it looks weird to be sniff your nails constantly. :)

Not So Blueberry

Bubble Gum

Bubble Gum actually smelled more like watermelon than gum! Sniff sniff.

Do you want your nail polish scented? What fragrance would you put in your lacquer?

Revlon Scented Nail Enamel $5 at store nation wide.

Revlon Molten Metal Eyeshadow - Heavenly Metal Collection - Swatches

December 30, 2010 by Robin Park

Molten Metal

2010 has been an amazing year for Revlon. They've exploded on Twitter and gave away lipsticks to their first 500 followers. Gucci Westman, makeup artist extraordinaire, is on board as Global Artistic Director. Other than marketing and creative, Revlon has also made strides most importantly in their products. They have come out with some really interesting collections and colors this past year. I loved their reinvention to Fire and Ice with a nod at vintage limited edition packaging. If you missed our review of it, click here. Grow Luscious has stepped over Diorshow as my new favorite big brush mascara. And as far as nails go, this year they have come out with some really interesting shades in their Top Speed line, as well as some cool glitter top coats and matte colors.

A recent release, Revlon Heavenly Metal Collection explores a dramatic rocker look on Halle Berry with a twist on the classic smoky eye. The display at my local store carried some new products introduced with this collection. The one that struck out to me was an eyeshadow duo called Molten Metal. Molten Metal consists of two baked eyeshadows in Jade and Onyx. Jade is a soft minty pearl green with serious shimmer. Onyx, isn't really black, but a blackened green with green shimmer. Both colors had a great texture, and I was surprised how pigmented they were for drugstore shadows. With a base, the colors really popped. Below they were swatched with no base or primer. This set is limited edition, so if you see it, I would snag this one. I hope Revlon comes out with more of these!

Jade and Onyx

Jade and Onyx (swatched with no base).

What Revlon products do you love? Did you get anything Revlon in 2010 that you liked or didn't like?

Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel - Sugar Plum

December 29, 2010 by Robin Park

Sugar Plum

Revlon recently relaunched their Top Speed Nail Enamel in 32 shades that claim to set in 60 seconds. I picked up a couple of shades last week and test drove the colors over Christms. First, I was impressed by the number of non-traditional shades offered. By "traditional" I mean pinks, reds, nude, beige. There were lots of greens, blues, purples, metallics.

Sugar Plum is a shimmery jewel like magenta purple. Two coats and I had complete coverage. I didn't set a stop watch, but the drying time did seem slightly fast. However with base, 2 coats polish, 1 coat top coat, dry time is going to add up. The manicure itself didn't wear so well. I think that the speedy dry time cuts corners for durability and longevity in the manicure. I had tippage at the start of day 2 of my mani. But with fast dry time, why not just erase the old and paint yourself a new set of nails?

I would definitely try checking these out. Revlon has definitely up'ed the ante with interesting color variety and a decent application and formula.

Do you prefer fast dry time to durability? Or do you want something that does it all?

Perplexing... Paradoxical.... Revlon Perplex vs. Chanel Paradoxal

December 02, 2010 by Robin Park

Revlon Perplex

Revlon Perplex is a muted grey purple with violet iridescence. Many bloggers have already done side by side comparisons with this and Chanel's Paradoxal.

In the haste of traveling, I didn't have time to dig out my Paradoxal bottle to do a side by side swatch, but from looking at the bottles, Paradoxal seems to have slightly more pink iridescence. Perplex is a little more purple with less shimmer. But would the average person be able to see a difference, probably not. The real question is would you know?

I wore this over Thanksgiving weekend, and I was quite impressed with the durability. Four days with very minimal tippage (this is with packing, unpacking and general traveling roughness). I liked the application, and for a fifth of the price of the Chanel... why wouldn't you get this?

Chanel Paradoxal on the Index and Middle.

Castledew 9289 (a Korean brand) on Ring and Pinkie.

This photo is in sunlight.

Perplex came with its own display, but it's unclear whether it will be readily available in coming months and part of Revlon's permanent nail color offerings. I bought it at my local CVS for $4.99.

Do dupes just make you lust further for the more expensive version? Or are you happy to save some $ when possible?

Revlon Fire & Ice Collection - Vintage Inspired Packaging for Revlon's Classic Red

November 02, 2010 by Robin Park

My collage of Fire and Ice featuring the tall drugstore display.
Smaller displays are also at stores.

In 1952, Revlon introduced Fire and Ice, an iconic red shade. When I think of certain brands, certain shades are just lodged in my memory. Chanel has Vamp, Clinque has Black Honey, Bare Escentuals has Mineral Veil... Revlon has always been Fire and Ice for me.

Revlon has relaunched the classic red shade of Super Lustrous lipstick in gorgeous vintage packing as a limited edition. I picked one up from my local drugstore for $8.99. The packaging is straight out of Mad Men. The lipstick case is columned silver and has vintage Revlon in gold. Totally elegant!

I am looking forward to whipping this out at a holiday party. It's too pretty not to show off.