NOTW - OPI & Ulta

I decided to try something a little different for my manicure last week. I've never really used black polish before, but I thought it would be fun to try out. I had also recently picked up Rainbow Connection from OPI's Muppets Collection and decided to throw that in there as well.

OPI's Rainbow Connection & Ulta's Little Black Dress. Little Black Dress took only 1 coat to be completely opaque, but I used two just to be safe. Rainbow Connection is awesome! It has such a variety of colors in the glitter that it look great against the black polish. I'm excited to try different looks with these polishes!

My New Favorite Brush Cleaner: Japonesque Professional Brush Cleaner

I've been trying different brush cleaners lately, everything from E.L.F.'s daily brush cleaner, their brush shampoo, regular shampoo, Sonia Kashuk's brush cleaner, and a few other things, but nothing really cleaned them well. E.L.F.'s daily brush cleaner worked okay, but there was some residues on my lighter brushes that just wouldn't come out. I thought they were stained forever! I'm also not a huge fan of shampoo which can ruin your brushes if you get them too wet, loosening the glue and causing the bristles to fall out, not to mention they can take hours to dry.

   Then, the other day I was in Ulta to pick up some more foundation and decided to see what they had to offer, and while there I came across the Japonesque Professional Brush Cleaner. I figured why not.

This stuff is amazing! It cleaned my brushes thoroughly with only a few sprays per brush and it smells great! It has a lemony scent, which I really like, and doesn't take long for the brushes to dry. The scent can linger, but I don't mind it since I enjoy citrus smells. I wish you could see in person how well this stuff works. It doesn't lather up, so no rinsing required. Just a few sprays on the bristles and gently wipe on a clean towel or tissue.

E.L.F. Stippling brush - before & after

Sigma F80- before & after

I would highly recommend this cleaner! It cleaned brushes that had already been washed, it works that well. As I mentioned above, I had a few brushes that I thought were permanently stained from makeup, my Sigma F80 included, but this cleaner got out any lingering makeup and they look brand new. My search is over!

Lord of the Rings Live Symphony

Yes, I'm a bit of a nerd/geek who loves science fiction, fantasy fiction, and all of the sort. Lucky for me, so does my boyfriend :) Last weekend we attended the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Live Symphony performance, which was Ah-maze-zing! If you're not familiar, it's where you watch the film, but all of the music is performed live, and I mean ALL the music, from the instrumental to the choir. It was fantastic. I hope they intend to show the other two movies as well because I'd love to go. Here are a few photos from our outing.

I wanted to take more than one picture of the two of us, and he said, "but it'll just be the same as the other one", so I made a face to prove him wrong. He loved it :)

I don't remember everything I wore, but I remember my eyeshadows were Tarte and Smashbox, with a little Kat Von D thrown in. My blush was Smashbox and mascara was Tarte. I know the pictures aren't great but I had a blast!