My Makeup Today 4.21.2014

Product List

Face

• Baby Skin Primer
• Smashbox Liquid Halo in 1 (the lightest shade)
• Smooth Minerals Avon Powder Foundation in M02 Soft Ivory
• Physicians Formula concealer
• Physicians Formula Nude Wear Blush in Rose
• Benefits Watt's Up highlighter

Brows

• Anastasia brow pencil in Medium Brown
• Nyx Primal Colors in PC07/Hot Red

Eyes

• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• Maybelline Eyestudio Gel liner in Blackest Black
• A green and Bronze color mixed from the Coastal Scents 88 Original palette
• The Taupe color from the Sephora 4 shadows and a liner palette, Matte Madness #15 (lower lash line)
• Cover Girl Clump Crusher mascara

Lips

• Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul

Hey everyone! My scumbag brain decided we needed to get up at 7 am instead of 7:45 this morning, so I actually had the time to do a full face of makeup (yay?). Let me just say that I fuckin LOVE the soft matte lip creams from Nyx. I also own Addis Ababa and it's so poppin. They go on fairly well but the staying power isn't great and I do find them to be drying. But the pay off is definitely worth it. 

Gel liner is not my friend, let me tell you. I've always had a hard time applying it, but I was really feeling a winged eyeliner look today so I thought fuck it, why not and went with it anyway.

What looks have you been rockin lately? Let me know!

Cheers!

My Makeup Today 4.18.14

Product List

Face

• Baby Skin Primer
• Smashbox Liquid Halo in 1 (the lightest shade)
• Smooth Minerals Avon Powder Foundation in M02 Soft Ivory
• ELF High Definition Powder
• Physicians Formula concealer
• Physicians Formula Nude Wear Blush in Rose
• Benefits Watt's Up highlighter

Brows

• Anastasia brow pencil in Medium Brown
• One of the reds on the lower right from Coastal Scents Original 88 Palette

Eyes

• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
• Nyx Milk jumbo eye pencil
• Julep Kajal eye glider/liner (the black end)
• Same red as brows mixed with a dark brown from the Coastal Scents 88 Original palette
• Makeup Forever mascara in smoky extravagant

Lips

• Baby Lips in 70/Pink Shock

Hey guys! Here's what I did for makeup today, and my awesome roommate helped me out. :D First time doing red brows, and I'm happy about it. 

What did you do today?

Cheers!

A product I am excited about: Galaxy Chick Palette

Good morning everyone!

So I've been eyeing this palette from BH Cosmetics because it is SO FRIGGIN COOL. I'm actually a huge fan of astronomy and my SO and I plan to try and snap some pictures of the night sky when we see each other next, so this came into my cross hairs at exactly the right time.

Well... Except it is out of stock until the 7th of March. Womp womp. My dad gave me some money for my birthday, however, so I think I will try and pick it up then. I've seen some good reviews online, and it's super pretty! 

Have you heard of this product? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

February No Buy: What Have I Learned?

Source: Chiot's Run

Good afternoon everyone!

I think it's a good question, and a good place to start: what have I learned?

Well, a few different things:

1. I can still find things to post about, even if I'm not constantly buying and trying new things.
2. I already have a good amount of makeup I can use to look pretty!
3. I'm still learning, and I can experiment with what I have.
4. I can overcome stress without retail therapy.

There are several others, I'm sure, but I think these are the four biggest points. I remember being concerned that I wouldn't have anything to post about if I wasn't buying new stuff, but then I realized that I have a lot here to work with (although to be fair I did have a good chunk of posts about stuff I bought in January). 

I also realized that I should utilize my 88 Original Palette a lot more (which is on sale right now by the way, check it out!). It's pigmented well, even more so with some Nyx Milk underneath, so I should try and use it more, and for more than just my brows (seriously y'all I'll take a picture one day and you'll be able to pick out IN AN INSTANT which color I use for my brows). 

I also remembered how satisfying it is to use up a product entirely. It feels good to know I've used something to its fullest and that I've gotten my money's worth. This was just as comforting to me as buying, in a way.

Going off of that, I've sort of replaced my need to buy with Otome games on my phone where I can use in game money to buy stuff (even if it isn't fancy or a lot). It sounds silly, but they're nice for bus rides or waiting for the bus. 

Does this mean I'll never buy makeup again? Hell no. I already know something I would like to get with some birthday money I got a few weeks ago. But it does mean I will be more careful with my dollars, and not use buying as a way to deal with stress.

It was tough, I almost broke a few times, but I made it. I made it, and here I am, perhaps a little more learned because of it.

I was even good about my food budget and using what food I already have here; I brought a lunch with me almost every day! I feel accomplished that I was able to apply this to more than just makeup.

Have you gone on a no buy? How did it go? Let me know!

Cheers!

NARS Train Bleu + L'Oreal Mulberry

Good morning everyone!

So today not only am I showing off my Star Trek: Voyager comm badge and my Star Trek bow, but also my NARS Train Bleu lip pencil! Of course, I fell in love with this color just as NARS announced they were discontinuing it, and I was pretty bummed. But then word got around that it was back in stock (curse them) so I went to the NARS website and ordered myself one from there (I linked to Sephora's website because something's wrong with the NARS website? I dunno what's up with that).

Anyway, I'm wearing that with another favorite of mine, L'Oreal's lip color in Mulberry. It's one that I wear A LOT, so the tube is a little worse for wear (but I love it anyways!). It goes on super smooth, and lasts very well - both of those things being things I greatly appreciate in a lipstick.

Train Bleu also goes on smoothly, and I used it just around the edges of my lips since I don't want to waste it (and since I've wanted to match these two colors up since I found out about Train Bleu). Overall I'm pleased with my purchase. It's something I ordered in late January and just got now, so it'll be the last thing I'll receive/get until March (it's gonna be tough y'all, but I think I can make it).

The first thing I plan on getting is my hair dyed (lookit all that regrowth :C) since I need it pretty badly. Also, I am pleased to report that my eyebrows are growing in well (woot!) although not as quickly as I'd like. Oh well. I have time.

Do you have Train Bleu or Mulberry? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Cheers!

Stila Countless Color Pigments Review

Good morning everyone!

I hope all of you had a good week last week (I say this as I am writing on the 10th). Of course, right before my no buy month, something I had had my eye on for a good while went on sale, and that was the Tie Dye Countless Color Pigments eyeshadow from Stila (that's the one in the blue container, if you're wondering). All of a sudden it was all sold out on Sephora, and I was sad and thought I had missed my chance, since on Sephora they were marked as limited edition. Well, I was able to find my Tie Dye shadow on the Stila website, and for $8 instead of $22! (wooooo!) Because it was such a good deal, I also snagged one in Melody as well. 

I had read some reviews that said these weren't very pigmented, and after a few uses I've found that I don't have this problem (to be fair, I always use Nyx's jumbo eye crayon in Milk under all my shadows). I love these colors quite a lot, and they definitely pop for me.

My only complaint is that when I used Melody last, I had a hard time completely cleaning it off my eye (but didn't have a problem on the 9th, when I took the picture above). 

As a side note, I tried a new way of curling my hair overnight, and am pleased with the results. Maybe I'll do a blog post about that sometime soon as well!

Have you tried these shadows out? Did you find them to be pigmented enough? Let me know!

Cheers!

No Buy Month: February 2014

Good afternoon everyone!

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for posting so late in the day - I know my posts usually go up in the morning, but I was far too tired to work on a post last night due to some extreme insomnia I've been having, and last night I was actually able to sleep so I slept as much as I possibly could! 

Anyway, moving on. I'm really glad that I decided to try out more beauty products and expand my horizons, but that isn't always easy on the budget! So I decided a No Buy Month was in order. What does that mean, you ask? Here are my rules:

1. No buying new products unless an essential runs out (like if my makeup remover gets all used up before the end of the month, I am allowed to repurchase that)

2. No buying new clothes

3. No eating out (my one exception would be plans I made about two weeks ago before I decided on a no buy month - I feel it would be rude to cancel now, and I'm going out with a friend who can get 50% our meal, so... I guess it isn't too bad?)

4. I am allowed to buy groceries, but only if I absolutely need something (so I'm trying to use up all I have first)

5. I am allowed to pay for my bunny's vet bill (since it's essential, of course) and buy him things he needs, like litter and food

What do I want to accomplish?:

1. I want to better appreciate the products I do have, and learn to use them well

2. Help cut back on impulse purchases

3. Use up some of the product I have (hopefully)

So there you have it! I still have lots of things to renew and to talk about, and one of my goals for this month is also to try and go through all of my nail polish and really decide what I want to keep and what I don't (it hasn't really come up on this blog yet, but I have a TON of nail polish). 

I'll report back at the end of the month!

Have you done a no buy month before? Are you planning on it? What were your reasons, and did it work out? Let me know!

Cheers!

Ps - I snagged the picture from Alice's blog - she's doing six months! Wow!

Sonia Kashuk Shimmering Sands & Showstoppers Review

Good morning everyone!

As some of you may know, it was my birthday on the 25th. While I didn't end up going out, I did break out these two quads to do some makeup. I also managed to forget to snag a picture of myself (I know, boo on me). Anyway, I thought I would review these eyeshadows and let you know what I think.

Firstly, I had to apply all of these with a wet brush. I mainly used the lightest brown/tan in the upper quad and a mix of the light colors on the lower quad (and used the black up top for an eyeliner). I tried with a dry brush, and the glitter didn't apply evenly and basically none of the color transferred. 

There was some problem of fallout, I found (even though I used a primer and pat the color on) and it was really hard to manipulate, blend, and control once on the eyelid. 

But worst of all... Clean up was a mess. Usually with my towelettes I can get everything off my eyelid, but for the life of me I couldn't get all this glitter off. :/ And that was honestly a big let down for me.

While I think these colors are pretty, I think there's also a reason these have been sitting in my makeup box for so long with such little use. Showstoppers got mixed reviews on Makeup Alley, and I have to agree with the people that didn't like this quad a whole lot. To be fair, I did get these a bit ago, so maybe in the newer renditions (with black packaging) they've changed the formula? I'm not sure.

But as it stands this isn't something I'd recommend and something I'll only try again in the future if I'm daring.

Do you own either of these quads? What's your opinion? Let me know!

Cheers!

Sephora 2014 Birthday Gift

Good afternoon everyone!

Last night I went to my local Sephora store to pick up some things for me and to get my birthday gift! My birthday isn't until the 25th of this month, but this was the only time I would have been able to stop in, so that's exactly what my roommate and I did.

This year's gift is a small box containing some Makeup Forever products. I received a lipstick (in the shad Rouge) and a small tube of mascara. 

I think the lipstick is very pretty, and it's actually only a little bit darker than my lips (my lips are semi-dark for lips, I think) and it applies smoothly. I tried some on last night without lip liner/primer, but I am wearing it with my Bite Beauty lip primer/liner today. 

The mascara wasn't clumpy at all, and I found it easy to apply (even though I was a little intimidated by the wand - it's a completely different shape than I've ever used before!) and I really like the way it sits on my lashes and makes them look.

Overall I think this was a great little birthday treat, and I'm glad I was able to pick mine up!

Have you gotten your Sephora birthday gift yet? And if you haven't, are you excited to try it out? Let me know!

Cheers!

Model Behavior

Good evening everyone!

When I ordered my Revealed palette from Coastal Scents they also sent me a sample of this pretty quad of shadows called Model Behavior (unfortunately a quick search on their site yields no results, but I do rather like these colors). I thought I would try them out today, along with my favorite lipstick, MAC's Twig. 

I did "Reef Sand" in the inner corners of my eyes, "Petal Peach" for the lighter color on my lid and "Deep Cider" as the darker color and my crease. Overall, I'm very happy with this pigments and I love the way they look! I also attempted a winged eyeliner look, but since I mostly do makeup by feel it was fairly hard to accomplish, sadly. Oh well. 

Ps - I hate the effect my glasses have in pictures... Oh well. I think I look silly without them!

Do you have these shades? How do you wear them? Let me know!

Cheers!

88 Original Palette

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I thought I would share a bit about the biggest palette I own, and the one that really got me "in" to makeup again after a long hiatus. I bought it last year sometime before I really knew about the Coastal Scents website, and in fact got it as a deal from somewhere else. The most used color for me is the brown I use to help fill in and perfect my brows, but I've started to expand into some other colors lately, and it's a great feeling to finally be using up this palette!

Right now it's on sale for $11.95, and while it isn't the best shadow I've ever used, I do enjoy the variety of shades. It comes with two applicators, but I've really grown found of my ELF "C" brush so I don't really use them. I have noticed some fallout problems after a long day of wear, but nothing too shocking that would make me not want to use this product. 

Honestly, for the price I think it's a great starting point for someone who's new to makeup and color and really just wants to experiment a bit. That's what I've been doing, and I've really liked the outcome! It's also so cheap you don't have to feel stingy when using these shadows, so you could devote an entire day to trying different colors and looks and not feel bad about "wasting" the product. I've actually thought of doing a post dedicated to my explorations with this palette (because I'm still learning the ropes too!), so maybe that will crop up one of these days!

Do you own this palette? How do you feel about it? Have you created any looks with these colors? Let me know!

Cheers!

A product I am excited about: Revealed Palette

Good afternoon everyone!

So I must confess, as I've gotten more into makeup and have been browsing around, trying to find new things to add to my arsenal, I've started to lust after the Naked 3 palette. I've seen some absolutely beautiful looks done with this palette, and the more I looked the more I wanted... Until I saw the $52 USD price tag. and while I have waaaay more than $52 worth of stuff on my makeup wishlist, since there are so many other things I want to get right now (like a good primer and a clear lip liner) I decided I'd just have to wait. 

Then I did some digging, and I saw a lot of people recommend this Coastal Scents Revealed Palette as a good dupe. Normally it's $19.95, but I just ordered it for 25% off, making the total for the product (not shipping) $14.95. It's got 5 stars on the website's reviews, and I've heard so many good things I think the price and the steep shipping cost (it was $6.95 at the cheapest) was worth it. I'll report back as soon as it arrives on my door step! What are you excited for? Have you tried this product, or Naked 3? Let me know!

Until then, cheers!

A product I am excited about: Maybelline Baby Skin

Good afternoon all!

Today it is quite cold here (around -50 Fahrenheit!) and while my SO tried to leave the apartment, his car wouldn't start so we were forced to stay in instead (and wait for my landlady to come and see why there was no heat in our apartment...) so I decided to lift my spirits I would post about a product I'm dying to try!

The item is Maybelline's Baby Skin Primer, which is fresh to the US market.

It's been on the Asian market for a bit now, and the few reviews I've seen (mostly from reddit's MUA subreddit) have been quite good, and for $6.99 it can't really be beat! I was thinking of getting Sephora's Primer but since this has gotten good reviews and is cheaper, I think I'll start here.

As a note, Amazon and Target online didn't have this product, and I could only find it at CVS's website! As far as I know it's very new, so I hope I can order it soon (before it sells out).

I'll report back as soon as I order one of these babies for myself! Have you tried this out yet? Let me know!

Cheers!

Kate Moss for Rimmel Haul

Good afternoon everyone!

I hope everybody had a fun and safe New Years celebration (or if you didn't celebrate that you still had a good night and a good end to 2013); I spent the first part of the night with my SO's family and then my SO and I went to a friend's place to play Cards Against Humanity and drink bubblies. It was a good night indeed that ended with Star Trek.

Unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling less than stellar (curse my luck), but I did get the joy of having my Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick haul arrive! I ordered four lipsticks from Walmart, sort of on a whim. I say sort of because I wanted 107 because I saw a post on this blog and fell in love, but the other colors I decided to try, mostly because I tend to stay in the same color range and never try anything new. And for under $5 a tube, why not?

I was a bit disappointed that a few were a bit smooshed at the top when they arrived, but other than that they arrived safely at my door. I'm also a little hesitant about the lighter, more coral colors, but I can't decide if that's just because I'm not feeling well and am deathly pale or if I will always feel cool toward them (if so, I'm sure my roommate would like some new lipstick).

I also have to apologize about the squiggly lines for my swatch picture - I'm left-handed so drawing straight lines with my right hand is nearly impossible, haha. 

107 is by far my favorite; I'm a huge fan of the dark colors and it seems to go well with my skin tone. (It's much darker when I apply it to my lips, by the by). To be honest, however, I'm not a huge fan of the formula. I tried both different formulas with both lip balm underneath and no lip balm, and both ways the application and color distribution wasn't nearly as smooth or even as I'd like it to be (so sadly, it doesn't stand up to my MAC lipstick and L'Oreal lipstick). I'm willing to experiment and see if maybe when I feel a bit better it looks better, so maybe I'll report back then (and include pictures of these lovely colors on my lips!) which may be later in the week or in the month.

Has anyone else tried these lipsticks? Were you a fan or no - and why or why not? Let me know!

Cheers!

Smashbox Liquid Halo Foundation

Good evening everyone!

I thought I would do a quick review of the new foundation I bought earlier this month. For a long time I was using a plain drugstore foundation, and while it was in the palest color possible it was still took dark for my complexion, and that wasn't its  only downfall. It also didn't blend in well and I felt like it was heavy on my skin. So since my roommate needed to get new foundation as well, I went with to our local Sephora and ended up buying Smashbox's Liquid Halo Foundation in Natural Vanilla. The employee I spoke to suggested it since I wasn't really sure what to get. I don't have a lot of redness or blemishes, so I didn't really need full coverage (and wouldn't want it since I want my freckles to peek through!), and Smashbox's foundation blends in like a charm. I feel like I'm not wearing anything! It's also super easy to clean off at night, and I don't feel like I've been wearing a mask all day and getting makeup over everything that touches my face. It's a bit pricey, at $42, but well-worth it for me since I've been wearing this foundation everyday. And it's SPF 15! (Which isn't too shabby, I suppose.)

What foundation(s) have you been using? Have you found one you fancy? Let me know!

Cheers!

Wild Orchids

Good afternoon everyone!

So this morning I decided to dig around in my makeup box (literally, I have no organization other than on my sinks surface and in a box) and pull out something I haven't used in awhile. I came back with a set of four crème eyeshadows from Revlon. Specifically I pulled out Revlon's Illuminance Crème Shadow in 701 Wild Orchids.

 I've had this for awhile now (and it's one of two that I own, maybe I'll try out the other one later) but I rarely use it. This is mostly because to me, crème eyeshadows are a lot of hassle and with little payoff. They're messy, difficult to apply evenly, and even though the color can be packed on for a vibrant look, in my experience it doesn't stay that way for an entire day of wear.

At first I thought that maybe I just didn't know how to apply/wear the crème eyeshadow, so I decided to look up some reviews. As it turns out, I'm not the only person who isn't a big fan of Revlon's crème eyeshadow line. As a note, I applied primer, and also ended up lightly packing on some white/pale nude powder shadow on top since I wasn't confident with just the crème.

I think in the future I'll give this quad another go, perhaps with some colored shadow on top (to make the powder color pop a bit more) but this honestly isn't my favorite.

So here's a quick pic of me with the shadow on (and yes, my baseline look is my left brow arched. I try to make them as neutral/even as possible but I always end up with my left brow arched, at least a tiny bit). You'll have to pardon my messy hair; I wanted to put on some makeup for fun, but I'm actually about to settle in for a much-needed Star Trek: TNG marathon with my SO!

Has anyone else tried the Revlon Illumiance crème shadows? What was your reaction? Do you have any tips or tricks for me? Let me know!

Enjoy your day, and cheers!

December Wishlist

Good evening everyone!

Here's my December Wishlist! Since I've gotten into makeup lately, here are some items based on that.

1.Retread from Lush - My hair has been seriously damaged from dying, and I've heard great things about this product. I'll try anything if it means my hair will be silky and healthy.
2. Roots from Lush - My hair is also very fine and thin, and I would really appreciate more volume in my 'do.
3. TARTRE BB Tinted Treatment Primer - I've been trying to find a good primer, and this one looks like it could work! All of the reviews are amazing.
4. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - My skin is kinda  yellowish, so I was thinking maybe a purple-tinted primer might help even my skin tone out! But also I have fairly blemish-free skin, so I'm not too concerned.
5. MAC lipstick in Twig - I saw a swatch of this color on /r/makeupaddiction and I fell in love! If I do well on my final tomorrow, I might get it for myself as a nice little treat.

What's on your wishlist, and what do you think of mine?

Cheers!