Back in three-ish weeks!
-Nat
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
{Update} Back in About 3.5 Weeks!
I'm really sorry for the lack of updates but with everything I've got going on I really don't have the time to blog, even though I really do miss it soooo much :( I will resume blogging right after finals, which is around three and a half weeks away. I just didn't want to leave you guys hanging anymore than I already have.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
{Haul+Update} MAC & I'm Not Dead...
Haul: just a couple things that caught my eye from MAC.
I know the reviews for the Cutie quad haven't been that great, but I do like these kinds of colors. The light green shade especially caught my eye as well as the two purples so I'm excited to experiment with them.
MAC Date Night Dazzleglass
Date Night looks very very dark but it actually applies quite sheer, which I like. I've been looking for a replacement for my Chanel Imaginaire and this gives my lips that same slightly plummy look that Imaginaire did. And I know that Dazzleglasses aren't new or anything, but when these first came out I was going through a massive matte craze. I'll be posting a full review on both of these products this up coming week.
MAC Date Night Dazzleglass
Update: No, I'm not dead. Really really sorry for the long absence, but the last two months of school always make it difficult for me to find time to blog. Between classes and clinicals and a social life and sleep I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and blog. I also haven't been spending a lot of time in my room lately cause I swear my roommate is trying to drive me insane. I understand that she's got a show to prepare for (she's a music theater major), but honestly the constant singing is driving me nuts. She sings all the time. Every single time she's in the room she's singing. It's enough to make me wanna pull my hair out. Seriously, right now all I've been hearing from her is "Oh my god just look at thaaaaaaat! A g-string and a cowboy haaaaaaaat!" Shoot me.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
{EOTD} Navy Clubbing Eyeshadow!
I feel like it's been ages since I've posted an EOTD, so here is one! A few friends and I went out last night and this is what my makeup looked like! I went for a navy smoky eye. I did add liner along the waterline later, but I don't have pics of that :( But yea, I went for dramatic, dark, and sexy! And I used my Sephora ColorPlay 5 in 1 Palette!
Products Used:
ELF Eyeshadow Primer (review coming soon)
Sephora ColorPlay 5-in-1 Palette
L'Oreal HIP Kohl in Navy
Revlon Grow Luscious Lashes Mascara in Black
{DIY} Cream Eyeshadow & Lip Gloss Palette
If you've been reading this blog for a while now you may have noticed that I really do love all things pretty. So, when I saw these Stila mother of pearl encrusted palettes at Sephora I didn't just buy one, I bought TWO!
Aren't they stunning!? My problem with them isn't the packaging, but rather the eyeshadows inside. I hate them.
The colors they chose to put in this stunning palette kinda shocked me. I still bought the palette because I love how it looks, but I've only used the shades inside once or twice. They're just not shades that flatter my skin at all and the mother of pearl powder they put in the shadows irritates my eyes. So what I've been doing for the past few months with my second palette is replacing the eyeshadows with cream eyeshadows, lipsticks, and lip glosses that I melt down into the pan, and that's what you see in the lower palette. I put my a few of my CoverGirl ShadowBlasts into the pans, but I added either some gel eyeliner or glitter or loose powder eyeshadow to make them less oily and more lasting.
My favorite color of the entire palette in this run is the second orange. It didn't transfer into pictures really well but I added some cosmetic grade fine rose gold glitter into it and when I wear it with the first color in the crease I always get compliments because it makes my blue eyes really pop!
Aren't they pretty!?
I also added a couple of lighter colors and a potted moisturizing balm from Anthropologie.
I'm not a big fan of these two colors in general, but I've been layering purples and greens over them and they look absolutely gorgeous like that!
You can also do a full palette of lipsticks if you'd like. I won't do the tutorial here because I feel like there are a million YouTube videos out there showing the same thing. This is just how I make use of drugstore cream shadows which I would never otherwise wear. It takes be about two months to go through whatever I put in these palettes because I tend to use them on a daily basis so about every two months I've got a new palette! Do you play around with palettes you've got at home?
Sunday, April 3, 2011
{Favorites} March 2011
Not a lot this month, but more than a few cheap and effective goodies!
1. Skin Care
Noxema Deep Cleansing Cream and L'Oreal Skin Genesis Deep Purifying Foaming Cleanser.
I've really really been trying to get my skin looking as great as I can, that's why most of the RIP posts lately have been filled with skin care items. I've really been just wearing less makeup and being more conciencious with my skin care routines, making sure to almost never skip it.
L'Oreal Skin Genesis Deep Purifying Foaming Cream Cleanser
I wouldn't say that this cleanser is foaming. It does lather, but not enough to qualify as a foaming cleanser. That makes this cleanser so different from others I've tried is that it contains clay. I've been washing my face with this cleanser for the past month and every two nights or so I leave it on as a mask for about 15 minutes before washing it off. It really cleans out my face and since the clays are a little abrasive, it gives me a good dose of exfoliation as well. It's just a really good all in one cleanser.
Noxema Deep Cleansing Cream
Now, I know that the idea of a cold cream type product seems very old fashioned, but I have to say that I've seen a drastic improvement in my skin ever since I started first taking off all of my face makeup and only then cleansing. As good as a face wipe is, it's not going to dissolve all of my makeup. If I just use a face wipe to clean my face and then use a bit of toner on a cotton pad, the cotton pad almost always ends up with makeup that I've missed on it. If I do the same but use Noxema instead, my makeup is completely gone. There will be nothing on the cotton pad, and that really leaves my skin cleaner when I finish with my cleanser.
Noxema Deep Cleansing Cream
How I use it (and I will have a full review posted soon), is I scoop a little bit out with my hands and massage it into my face and neck after I've removed my eye makeup with a liquid eye makeup remover. I make sure to get the hair line and neck very well because I apply makeup there but tend to neglect the area when cleaning. At first the cream feels thick, but it gets thin very very quickly. Because it is oil based it will dissolve all of the makeup, everything. I then use a cotton pad or a face wipe to remove it, but you can also wash it off. I love how clean but moisturized my face feels after using this stuff.
L to R: Noxema and L'Oreal.
Although the texture of Noxema seems solid in the tub it thins out as your hands warm the product and spreads very easily. ANd if you zoom in you can see the little particles in the L'Oreal cleanser.
Sally Hansen Carmindy Fast Fix Concealer All Over Neutralizer, NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Powder in Translucent, MAC MSF in Petticoat, Benefit High Beam, Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Nude Blush, Shiseido Color Stick in Champagne Flush, and Chanel Glossimer in Seashell.
NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Powder in Translucent and MAC MSF in Petticoat.
I picked up the pressed version of NYC Smooth Skin Loose Powder because while I love the loose version, it simply isn't convenient for every day use. I was really surprised with the pressed version as well. It goes on almost invisible (not completely, but doesn't really add too much coverage) and doesn't look cakey or anything like that. I usually use the loose version in the morning just after applying my makeup and take the pressed version with me to go for touch ups. And because the case isn't as sturdy as more expensive drugstore powders, I make sure to keep it in a makeup pouch. It hasn't cracked/opened on me yet, but I don't want to risk it.
MAC's Petticoat MSF I bought last year around the time that Pret-A-Papier collection came out. At first I was absolutely in love, but after a while I kinda forgot about it. I found it again a few weeks ago when I was cleaning out my vanity and fell in love again. I even found a better way to wear it. I used to just use it as blush, but now I layer it over my bronzer and it gives the most natural finish and keeps my bronzer from looking too matte. I'll show you pics of this later.
And how stunning is the veining!?
Benefit High Beam, Shiseido Color Stick in Champagne Flush, and Sally Hansen Carmindy Fast Fix Concealer All Over Neutralizer.
Whenever I'm breaking out because of stress I try to focus on concealing and illuminating, highlighting the good areas on my skin and concealing the bad. I found the Sally Hansen Carmindy concealer at the Dollar Store (I'll post a haul in a bit) and I love it!!! I completely gets out the red or the purple!!! It can look a bit heavy so I only really use it on pimples, not all over the face.
L to R: Shiseido Color Stick in Champagne Flush and Benefit High Beam.
I love these two highlighters. I actually bought both of them because I couldn't ever find the Boots No. 7 Highlighting Lotion at Target, and I actually found the Shiseido one at TJMaxx for around $16! I usually just use them in the inner corners, cheekbones, and the cupids bow. I find that the pink highlighters don't work on the brow for me. They just end up looking unnatural. I use the Shiseido one when I need a more subtle highlight and the Benefit one when I want a little bit more oomph.
Sally Hansen Carmindy Fast Fix Concealer All Over Neutralizer.
I've always been a bit skeptic about color correcting concealers. Before this one, just about every single one would look unnatural, even under regular concealer or foundation. This one doesn't. It blends in seamlessly and looks barely there, even without regular concealer over it. It doesn't look too yellow either, which I like. I actually wanted the lavender version of this concealer, but they didn't have it :(
L to R: Chanel Glossimer in Seashell and Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Nude Blush.
I've been wearing one of these every single day. That says a lot because I'm not really much of a lip person. I easily get annoyed with something sticky or something that transfers easily. For me, Nude Blush is the perfect my-lips-but-better color. It barely shows up but evens out my lips and gives me just a bit more color. Oddly enough, it also makes my eyes look bluer, which I love!
L to R: Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Nude Blush and Chanel Glossimer in Seashell.
I love the formulas of both as well. Nude Blush smells like watermelon and goes on very thin, almost like a thin balm. It's very moisturizing. The formula of the Chanel Glossimers is unlike any other lip gloss I've ever used. It's more gel than liquid, a bit thicker but not sticky and always very shiny!!!
It looks a lot more yellow than it actually is when blended out. I'll do a full review to show just how well it works!!!
Top To bottom: NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Powder in Translucent, MAC MSF in Petticoat: lightest shade, middle shade, darkest shade, and all swirled together.
That's it for March. No special perfume and you already saw my hair favorites earlier! Hauls and reviews coming up!
{RIP} DDF, Astrale Paris, Olay, Suave, Herbal Essences, H20+, and Lubriderm!
A collective RIP!!! A few of these were in my last hair care post so refer there for my thoughts.
Olay Clarify and Cleanse Daily Scrub
This is a great cleanser for those who need some acne treatment but don't want to deal with dry patches. It leaves my skin feeling very very clean. As an exfoliator, it's ok. It is definitely more for gradual daily exfoliation than heavy duty scrubbing, but whether that's a good thing or not depends on your skin. If you have sensitive skin, a gentle daily exfoliator may be more for you. I will be putting up a full review of this cleanse. I've had the pics for a while now but just haven't had the time to actually sit down and write the review haha!
Lubriderm Advanced Therapy for Extra-Dry Skin
This stuff works better on my hands than any other hand cream I've ever tried. It goes on thick, but absorbs quickly and isn't really greasy like other lotions. It's not specifically meant for hands, but that's what I've been using it for. I've always got it in my bag and it comes in handy all day long! Highly recommend!
DDF Aloe Toning Complex
Yeah, this one is completely gone, down to the letters on the bottle lol! I love this stuff and I've talked about it a lot in past posts. I don't know if I will repurchase because it is kinda pricey, but I am definitely going to keep and refill the bottle! I love how fine of a mist it sprays out!
Astrale Paris Toning Lotion
Astrale Paris isn't a very well known brand at all. I actually found this lotion at TJMaxx for $1, when retail is $12 I think, so definitely a deal!
What made me love it is the fact that it is alcohol free. It would just give my skin this boost of hydration under my moisturizer. And if I used it to make sure that my cleanser had removed all of my makeup it didn't strip my skin like other toners have. If I can find it in store again I will definitely repurchase!
March Favorites will be up later today!!!
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