Inglot O2M Nail Enamel (The "Muslim" Polish?)

I know this appearance after 2 months of being MIA is embarrassingly-lame but long story short: a massive tragedy hit extremely close to home in February so blogging was the last thing on my mind. But thankfully it will now be keeping me sane. :)

I'm sure many of you heard about the new nail polish formula released by Inglot called the O2M (oxygen and moisture) Nail Enamel which has now become synonymous with the term "Muslim polish". Inglot's attempt at creating a "breathable" and healthier alternative to nail polish also ended up answering the prayers (no pun intended, har har) of many Muslim women who avoid using nail polish (unless it's TOTM) as it prevents water from passing over the nails during wudhu (the ritual of washing before prayers) and in order to make wudhu properly, water *must* touch the nails. 

Unlike regular nail polish which prevents oxygen and water from penetrating to the nails (almost creating a seal over the actual nail) the Inglot formula is designed to allow water and moisture to penetrate to the nail through a technology which uses polymer (found in contact lenses) to make water permeable. O_O

I was going to buy a few to test it out...for science (you know, swatch some on a cloth and see if water went through etc) but SOMEBODEH beat me to the punch. :P This blogger, Mustafa Umar, actually had it tested on a coffee filter and the Inglot swatch was able to absorb water whereas the water pooled on top of the standard polish's swatch. 

Credit: Here // Pink = Regular Nail Polish // Purple: O2M Inglot Polish

It's not surprising that these polishes are literally flying off the shelves here in Saudi Arabia  where the makeup-savvy girls are probably buying by the bucketload since they are usually out of stock. However, I know for a fact I have to get some for myself but also my mom, aunts and cousins who will be AWL OVER THIS, so I will be stalking the Inglot stores to pick up a few. A review to follow whenever that happens, of course. 

They are available online in 53 shades, retail for $14/each and can be purchased HERE. A base and top coat using the same formula are also underway. 

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Wojciech Inglot, Polish Chemist and founder/creator of Inglot, passed away on Feb. 23 at the age of 57. 

Inglot 10 Eyeshadow Palette

Up until recently I had kind friends from America helping me shop in USD because almost everything is hiked in price here and I get annoyed having to foot the extra amount knowing I could get cheaper in America. I've done 2 MAJOR hauls (one which arrived and the 2nd should be on its way soon) but in the process of saving money, it all adds up in the amount of shipping costs and hassle. So the 2nd box will be the last, hopefully. And yes, that also means I have LOTS of stuff to get to blogging about.

My resolutions for 2013 is to not only buy everything in Saudi Arabia/locally, but to also buy less overall. I think I will be sticking to 13-products-for-2013 (I've already purchased the first 2 >.<) so lets see how that goes.

...enough of my ramble but that is why this was an exciting purchase because it's the first and only purchase made in-person and in Saudi Arabia thus far. Lo and behold! Look who finally got their hands on some Inglot? Moi. I had been wanting to make a palette for AGES.

I picked these up from the Inglot in Royal Mall in Riyadh and it the selection process was UBER-frustrating because it took me at least 3 hours narrowing down to the 10 I wanted, only to find out 5 of them were not in stock. =_= I had to write down the names of the missing ones and call back and finally managed to pick them up from another Inglot branch. Overall, the experience was a little annoying and frustrating and I've heard from lots of people with a similar experience so I would suggest going to a store and writing down all the names and purchasing them online. 

I chose not to get the bulky Inglot packaging and decided upon this palette from AnotherSoul from Etsy instead. Sparkleh' *_* 

Each Freedom System Square shadow retails for $6 or 35 SAR ($9.3) in Saudi Arabia. You get 2.7 grams (!!) and each shadow is made in Poland. 

I chose colors based on the fact that they were stand-alone shades rather than the type to compliment each other (although some could work together easily). I decided to save the basic shades for later so these were the 10 most complex/sparkleh'/exciting colors I could find. The two empty "slots" will probably be filled with some basic mattes, me thinks. 

Here's some Ingot terminology to keep in mind:

- AMC Shine: super-pigmented with a frost, or pearl finish 

- DS: Double Sparkle 

- AMC (Advanced Makeup Component): semi-matte with sparkle but less glitter than DS. 

Top row:

Shine 37 burgundy-brown with silver micro-shimmer. 

DS 471 olive-khaki matte base with grey shimmer through out

DS 457 chocolate brown semi-matte base with red-gold-green shimmer

DS 459 a cool-toned matte deep-brown with silver-blue shimmer 

Middle Row: 

DS 482 matte rich blue with silver-purple-blue shimmer

DS 502 purple-grey (dare I say, taupe-y?) semi-matte base with rainbow shimmer

DS 465 cool-toned light brown taupe with a TON of gold/multidimensional shimmer

DS 460 grey-lilac matte base with gold shimmer

Middle Row: 

Pearl 444 grey-silver with slight taupe undertones and outstanding texture

AMC 68 a purple-blue with rainbow micro-shimmer 

The texture could be smoother (the Pearl shadows are the smoothest in the range) and they do require a primer but wear well and blend flawlessly otherwise. The quality and color selection is outstanding and at that price they are a great value. I will be trying some mattes next time (which I hear Inglot excels in) but overall the colors are beautiful and I LOVE the shimmer in them. Go play with the various textures/finishes on your next visit to get a feel.

Do you have any favorites or other recommendations? 

Brush Roll

When moving to Saudi Arabia from Wisconsin, I made sure to keep all my brushes with me at all times so I actually had my brush roll in my purse the whole time. >.< This brush roll stores all my brushes when I travel. The previous post was about my entire brush collection detailing all my face and eye brushes. 

The brush roll I use is by the Etsy seller ASoftBlackStar who hand-makes beautiful brush rolls, and other smaller bags for travel. Unfortunately she's not accepting any orders at the moment. Check back on her Etsy store because she offers various patterns and sizes. And while googling her shop's name I discovered she's a fellow blogger! You can check her blog here. 

What drew me to this particular one was the damask pattern which I have a soft spot for, ahem. And at around $22 + shipping how could I resist? The fact that it's all hand-made seals the deal. The material is all cotton and it has 12 slots with generous room to hold brushes of all most sizes. 

What I love is the flap that comes over the top so everything stays securely inside and the ribbon is a nice touch that secures and bundles everything nicely. 

I haven't washed it in the 2+ years I've had it (never found the need to thus far) so I can't comment how it holds in the wash but I will add that it is superbly-made and hasn't fallen apart on me, nor has the stitching come apart or frayed. The only thing I wish I could add would be to some how make it wipeable but other than that, no complaints.

I have some pretty fabric I found while digging through my mom's stuff and found a gorgeous vintage sparkly pale gold and black fabric which would make for the most beautiful DIY brush roll. I definitely need to see how I can put it to good use or incorporate it into something like a brush roll or...something. Let me know what you guys use to store brushes when traveling and if you use a brush roll.