Whaaaaattt? Makeupppp?? On the nail blog? That’s right, makeup! Makeup is another one of my great loves and I want to start featuring it on my blog more. And, you know, it’s my blog so I can do what I want.

This blog will still be focused primarily on nail polish, so don’t worry. I will be posting swatches of the mainstream collections and other finds I have as I can, first and foremost.

I can’t say that I’ll have all of the newest releases when it comes to makeup – because I’m already trying to do that with nail polish. I don’t got all the money in the world. Nah, it’ll be little finds here and there that I pick up, that I just want to talk about in case anyone else is curious. And it’ll always be drugstore (or drugstore priced in this case) makeup, since I truly believe you can create a full, beautiful face all at the drugstore. But that’s a whole other blog post.

So welcome to Gingerly Polished, a blog all about nail polish. And the other side of Gingerly Polished, where you can create a fully polished you at the drugstore.

Now onto my first makeup feature!

Recently, Colourpop had a promotion on their website where if you spent $20, you got a free highlighter. I have always wanted to try their products after seeing so much hype around them, and I pooled orders with a couple friends to get free shipping, so there was no reason to not do it.

I ended up ordering a quad, and then receiving the free highlighter!

I picked the Zingara quad out, mainly because I loved the orange and cranberry tones in it. These were two colors I knew I didn’t have in my collection, and I loved the idea of them in matte formulas. This quad came out as part of their fall collections.

This quad comes with 4 shadows for $18, and the shadows are also available individually as well for $5 a piece.

The 4 shadows (from top, left to right, then bottom left to right) are Paradox, a satin; Seeker, matte; Jinxie, pearlized; and Elixir, another matte. I also picked this quad because it gave me an opportunity to test a lot of different finishes. I was so intrigued by the mattes.

Onto swatches. From left to right: Paradox is a beautiful bright cranberry red shade. It looks matte, but is labeled as a satin. Seeker is a very warm matte brown, with orange tones. Jinxie is a light, white gold shade. This one is a very soft shade, it’s not an in-your-face gold. And then Elixir is a Thanksgiving orange. It’s a nice burnt orange matte shade. It’s like pumpkin puree. Can you just tell I have fallen in love with this orange shade? Shall I compare it to more things?

They say the texture of Colourpop’s shadows can’t be truly described and boy are they right. They are a gel, yet they’re a powder. WHAT IS THEIR DEMON MAGIC. It feels slightly damp when you first touch it, yet it’s a powdery finish. It’s just like pushing a wet cushiony product, I don’t know how else to describe it.

But because of this weird texture, the shadows are absolutely beautiful. The one shade that disappoints me a little is Jinxie, that gold shade. I guess I was looking for a BAM in your face gold shade, and it’s just a soft gold all over your lid. So it doesn’t have as much impact as I was truly expecting.

Paradox, the cranberry shade, and Elixir, the orange shade are the most beautiful shades. They blend so well, and are so pigmented. They’re incredible, and I can’t stop singing their praises. If you only pick up 2 shades, get those two. Seeker is also a beautiful blending shade, offering warmth into the crease at any time.

I use a thicker, synthetic brush and just barely tap into the shades, and then slowly start blending through my crease, again slow and steady is the key here if you’ve never used them before. To pack over the lid, I just use my finger and dip into the shades and then place it all over my lid. That gives you the most pigment.

Now, onto the highlight! There were 3 shades and I went with Wisp.

Their highlighters are available for $8.

It’s a peachy-toned champagne color.

As you can see it’s a little dark for my skin tone, but it still adds a nice champagne glow to the skin. And from the swatch you can also see it’s a nice subtle highlight. It’s not going to be in your face highlight that you will see from the heavens. But a nice subtle sheen to your cheekbones when it catches the light. I just take my finger and tap it onto my cheekbones.

This was a bad thing to do, because after experiencing the eyeshadows I want them all. This is a problem. I feel an addiction coming on. Please help. I definitely want to try more highlights as well!

So my first order from Colourpop was successful. I’m already in love.

Have you gotten anything from Colourpop?